Animals on wooden posts

Macabre deterrent: Ravens as “crop protection”

Charges against unknown persons - but district exemptions stand in the way

(Bild: zVg)

Dead conspecifics as a deterrent against eating damage: animal rights activists immediately reported this macabre case to the police. The sad truth, however, is that exceptions in the Animal Protection Act allow these intelligent birds to be shot. A referendum is now being held at EU level to take action against cruelty like this.

You've seen them in stores: plastic ravens that are usually mounted on balconies to deter smaller birds. However, what a Krone reader discovered in a field near Ferschnitz in the district of Amstetten took her breath away: a farmer had distributed six dead ravens there by "mounting" them on wooden sticks where they could be seen from afar.

"I was simply stunned - it left me speechless," reports an employee of the Amstetten Region Animal Welfare Association, who visited the site after receiving the report: "Of course, we immediately filed a complaint."

Exceptions in the law: animal rights activists launch petition for a referendum
"The birds are likely to have been shot recently to prevent conspecifics from eating the forage maize. Crows and ravens are extremely intelligent animals and would recognize dummies," says the animal rights activist. Unfortunately, the fact is that the report will have no consequences for the animal abusers: according to the Lower Austrian Hunting Act, hooded crows and ravens are "non-huntable game" and therefore may not be deliberately killed. "But all district authorities have made exceptions here - with the exception of Krems and St. Pölten," says animal welfare expert Clemens Purtscher.

Information on the referendum: www.bundesjagdgesetz.at