Ralf Schumacher has been left furious at an energy giant in Germany after accusing them of killing his pregnant deer during New Year's Eve celebrations.
The former Williams driver, brother of the great Michael Schumacher and uncle to his motor racing star son Mick, took to Instagram to share the tragic picture of a dead deer on his farm which he blamed on the firing of "extremely strong firecrackers."
According to the 48-year-old, the actions came from the employees of RWE, who he sarcastically wished a "happy new year".
On Instagram he said: "I wish the workers of RWE global factory protection and the company a happy new year. Thanks to her employee, who lit some extremely strong firecrackers right in my yard, which is five km away from everything, unfortunately the animal died.
"Not to mention the panic of the horses, ponies, pigs and the many other poor animals. You can be proud of yourselves."
Ralf Schumacher (left) is the brother of seven-time world champion MichaelDespite not enjoying the same success as his brother, Ralf Schumacher still enjoyed a highly respected Formula 1 career
Schumacher claims disputed
RWE have since denied Schumacher's allegations claiming that their employees were not on or near his farm at the time of the alleged incident.
A spokesperson reportedly told Bild: “We have read Mr. Schumacher’s post and take the allegations made in it very seriously. We also regret that the animal died. In principle, it would be a massive violation of our regulations to set off fireworks during an operation; Of course, that also applies to New Year’s Eve.”
“According to our findings, neither RWE employees nor employees of partner companies were at the alleged location between 9pm and 4am. In addition, to our knowledge, firecrackers were not set off by RWE or partner employees anywhere else.
“Early in the evening, young people with cars and firecrackers were found near the alleged location and were told that entering the RWE premises was not permitted. Unfortunately, we can no longer clarify whether there is a connection here.”
Pregnant deer tragedy
The six-time grand prix winner has since responded to the same publication over RWE's statement, saying: “My employees observed that members of the factory security set off fireworks before closing time at 9pm. This is incomprehensible to me as it is obvious that there are animals just 20 meters away. Every student knows that you should not handle fireworks near a farm.”
“It is important to me that RWE ensures that an event like this never takes place on my doorstep again. That's why I'm relieved that RWE has agreed to take this incident seriously. There are so many other places there where you wouldn't put animals in danger. For my part, I deeply mourn the loss of one of my wild animals who was pregnant at the time of his death. It’s just tragic.”
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