Authorities say legal options exhausted at St. Pölten farm
Wednesday 26th August 2026 on 15:15 in
Austria
Authorities have been unable to stop livestock being kept at a fattening farm in the St. Pölten district despite years of inspections, official orders and an animal-keeping ban, ORF reported Wednesday. State veterinary director Christina Riedl said that “all legal options have been exhausted”.
The farm has been known to the authorities for years and is inspected regularly, according to Riedl. Officials have repeatedly imposed measures and issued orders. An animal-keeping ban is already in place against the former operator.
However, the ban applies to a person rather than the location itself. Another person can therefore take over the livestock operation, Riedl said. In this case, the operator’s wife officially took over the farm in May 2023, according to the Association Against Animal Factories, known as VGT.
The VGT said proceedings for an animal-keeping ban were now also under way against the current operator. The case is pending before the Lower Austrian Administrative Court following an appeal.
The organisation criticised the authorities’ inspections and said it had already made conditions at the farm public in 2022. It has filed four complaints so far, it said.
The VGT again published images that it said were taken at the farm. They reportedly show severely emaciated animals and animals lying on the ground unable to move. The organisation called for the affected animals to be removed quickly.
The VGT also alleged that the former operator continued to work with the animals despite the ban. The organisation said it based the claim on recent video footage. A VGT member confronted the man outside the farm on Tuesday, according to the group. He denied working in the barn, the VGT said.
The group said inspections should be questioned if conditions could persist for years despite regular checks. State councillor Susanne Rosenkranz of the Freedom Party had called for the farm to be closed after the allegations became known. Farmers’ association president Georg Strasser of the People’s Party criticised Rosenkranz, saying Austria had one of the European Union’s strictest animal protection laws.
According to the VGT, a court case against the former operator ended with a diversion in 2023. The organisation is calling for a new criminal investigation.