Allegations against couple

“These people should never be allowed to keep animals again”

The horse couldn't even stand up, it must have suffered terribly

(Bild: zvg)

Dogs that were allegedly kept in an underground cellar, horses that were severely malnourished and unable to get up from the pain, children who lived among garbage, junk and vermin: serious allegations have been made against a German couple who lived in eastern Styria.

The case began after an anonymous complaint, and the complex and difficult investigations, which were carried out with commitment and meticulousness by the St. Margarethen an der Raab police station and the responsible veterinary authority, lasted a good year. Ultimately, the allegations are massive: according to the police, a couple from Germany, aged 46 and 58, allegedly kept animals in East Styria, sometimes under the most adverse conditions, and also neglected their children. 

On the farm and other locations: around 100 chickens, two sheep, nine dogs and 25 horses. "Even during the initial investigations, it became clear that the animals were standing in the dirt, their hooves were in poor condition and there were also environmental concerns," says police spokesman Markus Lamb. The authorities initially offered assistance, but this was "not accepted or only partially accepted", "the condition became worse and worse, which was verified during numerous inspections".

Simply awful! The horse was completely emaciated and could no longer stand up.

(Bild: zVg)

Festering hooves, extremely emaciated
Some of the horses are said to have been handed over to the couple under the promise of appropriate care by means of a protection contract. The "appropriate care" then manifested itself as follows: "We handed over our show horse 'Maurice', who was no longer rideable after suffering cartilage damage, to these people in the good faith that he would be in good hands there," the owner of the animal recounts, completely horrified.

"At first, everything seemed fine." After the report, it turned out: "It had completely festering hooves, couldn't even stand up and must have been in such terrible pain that it could no longer eat. It had lost almost 200 kilos! The horse expert who fetched it almost had to carry it onto the trailer!"

He has since recovered, as has his pony buddy: "Sky", who the couple wanted to use for riding lessons, had also lost a huge amount of weight and is totally distraught. There were definite signs that he was starving. We are so horrified, it's terrible. These people should never be allowed to keep animals again!" In the meantime, all the horses have been returned to their original owners or to foster homes.

The dogs have also been rescued, some of which are said to have been kept in appalling conditions. In an earth cellar or a fully cleared boiler room measuring just 2.5 square meters, without daylight, without sufficient food or water, without being spoken to! 

The condition became even worse, as was discovered during inspections.

Polizeisprecher Markus Lamb

Children's rooms were littered
And there's more: four underage children were in the house, and here too the conditions were catastrophic. According to the police, they had no proper sleeping quarters: Two children slept together in the bed of the cluttered and messy children's room, the other two in the bunk bed of a fully cleared passage room. The kitchen was crawling with vermin. Offers of support from child and youth welfare services were only accepted sparingly or rejected altogether.

And another accusation: a large dung heap was causing considerable damage to the soil and water due to leaking manure and seepage - despite several requests, this was not remedied. Expert reports attested to environmental hazards.

According to the police, there are also several cases of fraud in connection with unpaid veterinary bills. The suspects also made the investigation more difficult: The suspects concealed locations where animals were kept, hid animals in unknown places and fought notices such as the official ban on keeping animals.

Similar allegations already in Lower Austria
The couple had already been the focus of investigators in Lower Austria due to similar allegations. A farm there was closed down in 2022 after several complaints. The family is now back in Germany. "We naturally wanted to bring the woman to justice immediately," says the horse owner. "She said they had to go back immediately because otherwise they would take the children away from them. This is all unbelievable." 

"An unpleasant story from start to finish"
Charges are now being filed. The 46-year-old German woman - the presumption of innocence naturally applies to all allegations - was asked by us for comment, but she was brief: "We are in the middle of the proceedings and unfortunately cannot provide any information at the moment. The whole thing is an unpleasant story from start to finish." We can expect "mail from the lawyer" if we report ... We will of course continue to report on developments.