Lack of space in shelters

“Animal keepers have to take dogs home”

Animal shelters have a space problem, especially when it comes to dogs.

(Bild: Markus Wenzel)

There has been an acute shortage of space in Upper Austria's animal shelters for some time now - not least due to recent major animal removals by the authorities. The shelters usually take in the four-legged friends despite a lack of capacity. These are now to be gradually expanded, currently in Linz for example.

Almost every day, representatives of the authorities contact Pfotenhilfe Lochen about dogs that need to be confiscated and ask them to take them in. However, the animal rescue center has long been bursting at the seams with dogs. Pfotenhilfe recently took in a male husky that was being kept in a dark room and in completely inadequate conditions. "We said yes because we felt sorry for the animal. But if you go beyond your capacity every time, nothing will ever change," says Pfotenhilfe employee Jürgen Stadler.

Large collections in Ansfelden and Gilgenberg
The province of Upper Austria has had a massive space problem with found or confiscated "official animals" - especially dogs - for some time now. Just how tense the situation is was demonstrated in September when 44 tortured dogs were rescued from a torture cellar in Ansfelden. For the majority of the confiscated four-legged friends, care places had to be organized in other federal states.

Before that, the removal of 55 animals from a torture kennel in Gilgenberg was a huge challenge, especially for Pfotenhilfe. "We had to build two new dog enclosures and rent rooms for cats." The situation is now so tense that animal keepers are also taking newly adopted dogs home.

"Expansion of resources is necessary"
Provincial Animal Welfare Councillor Michael Lindner (SPÖ) is aware of the problem: "I am aware that the animal shelters are already working at the limits of their capacity. An expansion of resources is necessary." He has therefore commissioned a development plan to determine where existing capacities could be expanded."

He was able to announce an initial measure on Monday: The Linz animal shelter will receive a EUR 300,000 grant from the state for the construction of a new dog quarantine station. The first tranche of EUR 100,000 for this year was approved in the government meeting.