Dubious methods

Animal abuser or healer: Ex-policeman on trial

The animal technician admits mistakes in court (symbolic image).

(Bild: P. Huber)

A retired police officer (53) has to stand trial in Graz for his dubious training methods. The animal energetic is said to have mistreated and tortured problem dogs. He denies the allegations, but admits mistakes.

Videos on the internet showed how the 53-year-old Styrian apparently tortures dogs. He kneels on them, fixes the four-legged friends to the ground for long periods of time, kicks them brutally, chokes them with chain collars and pulls them back and forth.

"He describes himself as an animal energetic who works with problem dogs. But not with positive reinforcement, treats or circus tricks, as he says, but with energies so that they speak a common language," explains public prosecutor Laura Markt-Holzmann. "But his theories and methods are outdated and obsolete," emphasizes the prosecutor. 

"Animals were only afraid"
He pushed the dogs to the ground until they trembled. Now their energy was escaping, he claimed. "In fact, the animals were only afraid because of the brutal training methods", Markt-Holzmann quotes from an expert report. He would have thrown animals through the air on choke collars.

He did not work with positive reinforcement, treats or circus tricks, as he says, but with energy.

Staatsanwältin Laura Markt-Holzmann

"I did not exercise the necessary care", the accused ex-policeman admits to Judge Christoph Lichtenberg. He made mistakes, he says in relation to the choke collars, even if he does not plead guilty. "I had to defend myself. The dogs were massive problem dogs that attacked me. They were often in an agonizing state for years." Despite wearing a muzzle, he suffered injuries.

 "What was the option for these animals?" asks the judge, himself a great dog lover. "Give them away or put them to sleep. They were sidelined," was the matter-of-fact answer.

I had to defend myself. The dogs were massive problem dogs that attacked me.

Der angeklagte pensionierte Polizist

"I was hope for all of them"
But not all of them were killer dogs. They were also animals that just weren't capable of socially appropriate behavior - such as going for a normal walk. "I was the hope for everyone." - "And the customers were happy?" - "Most of them were." - "Yes," the judge has to admit, "that's what most of the witnesses actually said."

However, chain collars have been banned for 15 years. "But the question here is not whether they are banned, but whether it was cruelty to animals," clarifies Judge Lichtenberg. "Did you use the choke collars without stopping?" he wants to know. - "Yes, that was a mistake", says the animal technician.

Choke collar more like a gold chain
But the chains were necessary because they energetically represent letting go. And the water (with which he sprayed the animals) was the element of the soul. "That's how I tried to approach the animals energetically," he explains. And the chains were used very loosely anyway. "Like a gold necklace." The metallic sound was often enough to give the impulse.

And the kicking in the soft parts? How does the defendant explain that? "This impulse serves to reach the animals, to get them out of their problem situations. But not as an attack." After all, it was about trust. Violence is not a solution. 

Trial adjourned
Also charged are the pensioner's partner as a contributory offender because she made the videos and a policewoman from Germany who is also alleged to have mistreated a dog. The trial was postponed until the end of January. Witnesses and experts will then have their say.