In Garsten, the district administration of Steyr-Land (Upper Austria) has released five cygnets for murder. However, an animal protection association filed a timely complaint against the shooting. On Friday, the administrative court ruled in favor of the animal rights activists and revoked the decision.
The Steyr-Land district council has released five one-year-old mute swans in Garsten for the shooting – after taking advice from an official hunting expert. The background: A handful of farmers had complained about increasing damage (several thousand euros) to pastures and proposed the official coercive measure.
The groups split up in the spring
The “Krone” already reported on the launch approval at the end of March. The decision caused a lot of shaking of heads among animal rights activists, who filed a complaint with the administrative court. It said: “As herbivores, mute swans use suitable green spaces, e.g. Meadows and oilseed rape fields near water bodies are often used as winter habitat and also form larger associations. These areas are only suitable as long as the vegetation remains relatively low. In the spring, these groups disintegrate as adults visit their breeding grounds and disperse swans that are not yet sexually mature over large areas.”
Referred back to the district administration
The administrative court of the state of Linz heard the case on Friday and ultimately ruled in favor of the animal rights activists. The forcible shooting was dismissed and referred back to the district administration. It was held in court that the district administration had not obtained the required agricultural expert report. “Since a central, technically sound investigative step into the facts of the case was omitted, the contested decision had to be withdrawn and the case had to be referred back to the district administration,” is the reason for this decision.
Source: Krone
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