Grazing has become part and parcel of nature. In fact, this natural process forms an integral part of a fully-fledged ecosystem. Many nature development projects have already proven that grazing makes an important contribution to the restoration of nature reserves.
Natural grazing places high demands on grazers. Animals live outside all year round, are not fed extra and must therefore be able to fend for themselves. Many horses and cattle can no longer do this. That is why we see Scottish Highlanders, Galloway cattle or Koniks in many nature reserves.
Nowadays, Kempen~Broek accommodates mixed herds of primitive cattle breeds from all over Europe. These primitive breeds are cross-bred in the hope to create a completely self-reliant cattle breed that matches the primitive cattle as closely as possible.
It is important to leave the animals alone. They must remain wild animals. Supplementary feeding is strictly forbidden! Only in extreme situations are the animals given extra feed by the competent nature managers.
Therefore, some important rules of thumb apply when entering nature reserves with large grazers:
•Do not stroke
•Do not feed
•Keep your distance
•Do not cross the herds
•Leash dogs
