6 rabbits taken away

“No, I really never want to have animals again”

On Monday, a pensioner had to answer for her actions in Linz.

(Bild: C. Handl)

A pensioner from Linz is said to have kept a total of six rabbits in cages that were too small and also rusty. The magistrate intervened and took her pets away from the owner. In court, the 66-year-old finally admitted her mistake.

"I never beat or mistreated the animals and normally changed their litter every two days." A 66-year-old pensioner pleaded not guilty at Linz Provincial Court on Wednesday. The accusation: Linz City Council had taken six one-year-old rabbits from her. She had kept the young animals in cages in her kitchen that were too small. The too-small boxes were also rusty and soiled with excrement and urine.

Animals named after coat color
"If you loved your animals so much, why didn't you give them names?" the judge wanted to know - to which the Kenyan-born Austrian only said that she had named them after their colors. "The animals were always healthy, and the vet said that there was nothing wrong with them when he took them in," emphasized the pensioner. She did not know at the time that the small cages were too cramped for the rabbits.

Got away with diversion
On the day of the trial, however, she admitted this. "If you had the choice, would you keep rabbits like that again?" asked Ms. Rat. "Absolutely not, I don't want any more animals, even though I now know the law," said the rabbit owner. Because she finally admitted her guilt, the threat of punishment was low and the defendant was blameless, there was a diversion, provided she paid a fine of 200 euros to the state.