Torment breeding and co. – Good luck “Krone”: Animal protection package has finally arrived!

After tough negotiations, including massive stalling tactics by the ÖVP, the coalition has finally agreed on new rules to protect our animals and thus also meets the demands of the “Krone” and its readers.

Big step forward
The amendment to the Animal Protection Act will be reviewed next week – a success for the alliance of several animal protection organizations (Four Paws, TOW, VGT, Friends of the Animal Corner, Pfotenhilfe, Tierschutz Austria and many more), which has worked intensively and worked persistently on improvements.

Because for a while it looked as if there would be a standstill or even decline. But now Animal Welfare Minister Rauch (Greens) has spoken clearly at a press conference in Vienna’s TierQuarTier on Saturday: the amendment he revised to the Animal Welfare Act should come into force during the course of the year.

Only breed healthy animals
The new law should finally put an end to torture. The animals from this breeding farm often suffer from serious health problems such as shortness of breath or broken joints.

Certain breeds on the brink of extinction?
“A committee established specifically for this purpose will determine the characteristics of torture breeding according to strict scientific standards,” Rauch said. This committee will also review association breeding programs and could even herald the end of breeds with serious health problems such as the Cavallier King Charles or the Pug.

Still rented
The fight against the illegal puppy trade also continues. In the future, not only the trade in such animals, but also their purchase will be criminalized. “Making consumers responsible here will have a big impact,” says Maggie Entenfellner, boss of “Krone” Tierecke.

Breeder’s duty
Another milestone is the extension of the licensing requirement for breeders – because until now, an informal notification to the authorities was sufficient and you could start breeding. From the second litter of dogs and third cats, this no longer runs uncontrolled as a “hobby”, but must be approved.

Chipped – and also registered?
It is also gratifying that the pet database is being expanded. In the future, veterinarians will also be obliged to register the dog in the register when inserting the chip and to ensure appropriate “identification of origin”: the name of the breeder and the chip numbers of the parents must appear. For dogs from Animal Welfare, the organization must be registered.

Evidence of expertise
Before purchasing a dog, there is a mandatory four-hour certificate of expertise for dog owners in all states, which must also be entered into the database. In addition, a two-hour practical unit must be completed within the first year. So there is a lot to do, the obstacles to bad things are getting higher and a small step towards greater animal welfare has been taken!

Stricter rules for protection dogs!
There are also huge restrictions and requirements for private dog sports. It was clear to all animal rights activists: either the controversial bite and attack training would be completely banned, or there would have to be major reforms in this sensitive area.

Because dogs that are ‘trained in protection’ can be compared to handling a weapon. Anyone who wants to start this form of training with their animal in the future will have to prove good standing and undergo an approval test in advance.

Character tests and exams
But the examiners, dog trainers and ‘protection assistants’ must now also be inspected and certified by an independent scientific body. The dog itself must be at least twelve months old and pass a temperament test before training begins. If this fails, he will be banned for life.

An extensive health check is also planned in advance by independent experts who certify physical fitness for this strenuous training. The exact content of temperament tests and examinations is developed by leading dog experts such as Karl Weissenbacher of VetMed University.

A thorn in the side of many
However, the fact that animal welfare is now finally being put at the center and work is being done in a way that is worthy of animal welfare, will be a thorn in the side of the proponents of the “old traditions”. It remains incomprehensible why the representatives of the associations involved – especially the ÖKV – did not come up with the idea of ​​initiating these improvements themselves.

Instead, these interest groups engaged in loud and aggressive verbal battles and waited too long for something to move. This debate has shown the true face of dog sports, which previously put its own ambitions above animal welfare.