Two male reindeer are stuck in an unapproved fence near Höfn í hornafirði in East Iceland and will likely die if they are not rescued.
Six reindeer were originally stuck in the fence but four of them managed to break free unassisted, Vísir.is reports.
Some of them still have bits of fence wire tangled in their antlers.
A reindeer guide says the two remaining bulls might be able to break free when they lose their antlers. Otherwise, most reindeer that get stuck in fences die a slow, painful death.
“They can be saved but it’s very costly for the municipality. And even if they broke free on their own, they’d be injured, ” Skúli Benediktsson, reindeer guide told Vísir.
He said reindeer getting stuck in fences is nothing new; in the past 13 years dozens of reindeer have been killed because they’ve gotten their antlers stuck in damaged fences that have fallen to the ground.
The fence where the two bulls are stuck is in a state-owned terrain but Skúli said it’s the municipality’s responsibility to oversee the fences. “People have made complaints about these fences before but to no avail it seems,” Skúli said.
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