Animal welfare criticism

Too few neuterings: A glut of kittens

Many kittens currently have to be nursed at Pfotenhilfe

(Bild: Pfotenhilfe Lochen)

Too few cats are neutered, Pfotenhilfe managing director Johanna Stadler from Lochen is convinced. She calls for tougher enforcement of the regulations. Provincial Animal Welfare Councillor Michael Lindner (SPÖ) points out that he has significantly increased the budget for sterilizing stray cats.

"A veritable flood of cats reached the Pfotenhilfe Lochen animal welfare center in August," complains Pfotenhilfe managing director Johanna Stadler: "As every year, I took on the role of several cat mothers. Many of the often desperately crying babies are ill and incur high treatment costs. All this suffering and a lot of work would be so easy to avoid if the mandatory neutering was enforced across the board and closely monitored."

Meow! A sleeping velvet paw

(Bild: Pfotenhilfe Lochen)

What does animal welfare councillor Michael Lindner (SPÖ) have to say?
 The budget for the stray cat project has been significantly increased for 2024, to a maximum of 156,000 euros. This means that more than 1,500 strays can be neutered and chipped this year through this initiative. The funding rate per cat has already risen from 75 to 80 euros from 2022 to 2023 and has been significantly increased again in 2024 - to 100 euros per cat.

In the long term, according to Lindner, a change in the law is necessary: "It is important that, as with the registration of dogs, a chip requirement is also introduced for cats. That way, animals can be identified."

The kittens are adorable

(Bild: Pfotenhilfe Lochen)

 453 new administrative penalty proceedings 
According to the Upper Austrian animal welfare ombudswoman, there were 453 new administrative criminal proceedings against animal owners last year. 63 cases concerned the keeping of cats. The majority of these proceedings relate to the failure to neuter cats and shortcomings in cat breeding.

Krone-Kommentar

Die Vögel wären dankbar

If birds could write, they would have submitted a petition for rigorous cat neutering long ago. But as it is, they are constantly having to ruffle feathers because the house pets are all too happy to go stalking. The extinction of species also has to do with the murderous velvet paws, although cat lovers don't like to hear that.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV, Alexander Schwarzl, Markus Wenzel)

Although a trip to the vet is compulsory, the way this is dealt with is typically Austrian: no plaintiff, no judge.

The state pays for the sterilization of stray cats, while the owners have to pay for domestic cats. But perhaps the next government will sponsor that too.