Lower Austria plans tougher law to curb animal welfare breaches

Lower Austria wants to strengthen its animal welfare law so authorities can intervene more quickly when animals are mistreated, ORF Lower Austria reports. The proposal follows repeated reports of neglected or injured animals and calls for more inspections.

A farmer appeared in court in St Pölten on Friday over alleged animal cruelty. He is accused of mistreating or inadequately feeding at least 48 pigs and a horse, and failing to provide them with sufficient medical care. He has been barred from keeping animals since this year.

In another case, images from a farm in St Pölten district circulated over the summer showing emaciated goats, cows standing in their own faeces and violence against animals. That farmer is also subject to an animal-keeping ban.

David Richter of the Verein gegen Tierfabriken, an animal welfare organisation, told ORF Lower Austria that complaints had been made about one of the farms several times since 2013, most recently in 2022, 2023 and 2026. He said authorities could have acted on their own initiative to prevent the conditions.

The organisation says there are too few unannounced inspections. Richter acknowledged that inspectors could arrive to find a farm locked, but said advance notice could allow farmers to conceal problems. He also called for more consistent penalties, saying repeated fines for the same breach could encourage compliance.

Removing animals is subject to strict conditions because it can deprive farmers of their livelihood. Except in emergencies, authorities must have a final animal-keeping ban in place. That requires either a criminal conviction, such as for animal cruelty, or two administrative convictions.

Proceedings can take years when farmers challenge a ban in court. In some cases, after a ban becomes final, farmers have transferred animals to relatives or companies they control, preventing authorities from removing them without necessarily changing the animals’ conditions. Authorities must also find replacement accommodation for animals, which can be difficult for large farms.

Susanne Rosenkranz, the state councillor responsible for animal welfare, said most farmers care for their animals properly but that a small number mislead authorities. She wants the law to allow an immediate provisional ban on keeping animals, which could later be lifted if circumstances change, and require an independent person to care for the animals. She also wants authorities to be able to bar farmers from entering their stables.

Rosenkranz plans to raise the proposals at a conference of state animal welfare councillors in Salzburg in mid-November. The state says it is already in close contact with the federal Health Ministry. The Verein gegen Tierfabriken supports the proposed measures, including a stable-entry ban, and says authorities need more effective ways to enforce restrictions.