Partially evacuated

Animal rights activists occupy ÖVP headquarters in Innsbruck

The activists took over a room on the first floor.

(Bild: VGT.at)

Excitement at the ÖVP headquarters in Innsbruck late Wednesday morning: activists from the Association Against Animal Factories (VGT) gained access to the building and occupied a room. They demanded a meeting with ÖVP Agriculture Minister Norbert Totschnig. In the afternoon, the police removed some of the activists from the building.

The 16 animal rights activists had locked themselves in a room at the ÖVP party headquarters in Fallmerayerstraße and chained themselves up. The activists wore pig masks and announced their demands with a megaphone from the window. They wanted to speak to Agriculture Minister Totschnig, who is currently in Tyrol. Specifically, the activists are calling for a ban on fully slatted floors in pig farming.

(Bild: VGT.at)

(Bild: VGT.at)

Police partially cleared the room
However, the ÖVP did not want to comply with the request for a meeting with Totschnig. After three hours, the police arrived instead of the Minister of Agriculture. They broke down the door and carried the animal rights activists out of the house. Nine of them are now in police custody.

Five chained activists are still in the ÖVP headquarters. The professional fire department left without having achieved anything because they did not want to injure the activists. They can remain in the building "until further notice in consultation with the building owner", according to the police press office. There was no danger to life and limb, according to the police, who were on site with several patrols and set up a detour on the street.

Totschnig celebrates his 50th birthday tomorrow. The right time to show a heart for pigs.

Der Verein gegen Tierfabriken in einer Aussendung

Fully slatted floors cause discussion
The black-green federal government recently disagreed on the transitional periods for implementing the ban on fully slatted floors for pigs. While Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens), who is responsible for animal welfare and consumer protection, is insisting on an end to the deadline by 2030, the People's Party is demanding more time for farmers.

In January, the Constitutional Court overturned the transitional period for implementation, which was originally set until 2040, as being too long and objectively unjustified. The legislator was given until June 2025 to repair the regulation.

"Not activism, but extremism"
ÖVP Tyrol regional managing director Sebastian Kolland condemned the action in the strongest possible terms: "It is one thing to stand up for your opinion and to use activist forms of protest to do so. But invading someone else's property and entrenching yourself there is not acceptable at all. The VGT rejected every offer I made to talk to them. Anyone who uses such methods is not an activist, but an anti-democratic extremist," Kolland said in no uncertain terms.