Trial in Innsbruck

Snake lay in front of abandoned apartment for weeks

An albino snake (symbolic image) was left in front of an empty apartment.

(Bild: Werner Stangl)

For six weeks, an albino snake had to wait in a terrarium in front of an empty apartment in the Tyrolean Außerfern. A 24-year-old man had simply left the snake without food or water when he moved out. The man would now have had to stand trial in Innsbruck for cruelty to animals.

The dock at Innsbruck Regional Court remained empty. Despite calling to say that he would be a little late, the Tyrolean man stayed away from the hearing. The judge therefore ultimately decided to hear the case in his absence and to hear the official veterinarian as a key witness. She was notified by the police on December 18, 2023, "entrusted" with the snake and examined it weeks later to check its state of health.

Animal survived the six weeks well
The snake had "obviously survived well", it was eating again and shedding its skin, she stated in court. It is also conceivable that a snake generally "has no significant needs for six weeks", which is why it cannot be said with certainty whether it "actually suffered pain".

Agony "not provable with certainty"
 The judge then followed this assessment in his acquittal. "Who am I to be able to assess all this better than the official veterinarian?" he asked. In his opinion, it was not "possible to prove with certainty that the snake had really been tortured".