Trial in Innsbruck

Cruelty to animals: Tyrolean man kept raven on a short “leash”

Symbol photo(Bild: Reinhard Holl)

A raven, on a leash, with a cord and a carabiner on its leg in an open cage in the garden, brought a Tyrolean man (39) to court for cruelty to animals. However, he only ever "had the best intentions", the accused told the judge. It was not the first bird he had found injured and then wanted to "nurse up".

This was also the case with the raven: "It obviously had an injury to its wing and could no longer fly." According to the charge of cruelty to animals, he allegedly kept the injured raven in an open cage with a short cord and a carabiner attached to its leg

The defendant in court.(Bild: Markus Stegmayr, Krone KREATIV)

"The cord was eight meters long," defended the 39-year-old, who pleaded "not guilty". In addition, the cage was "closed at night with a wooden grid", he described the circumstances.

Defendant wanted to release ravens
He then wanted to release the raven that he "looked after" from August 31 to October 16. "But that overlapped because the police were at my house at the time," the accused reported. When asked by Judge Paul Menardi whether he did not know that it was illegal to keep wild animals, the Tyrolean replied slightly aggressively: "But I know about birds". Although he did not have a falconry license, he could "do without that piece of paper".

I know my way around birds.

Der Angeklagte vor Gericht

Fine instead of community service
Despite his behavior, the judge and public prosecutor finally came to an understanding with the blameless "bird lover". "From my point of view, there's nothing wrong with diversion," said Menardi and the public prosecutor agreed. However, there were problems with the relevant "conditions". The unemployed man turned down the offer of 50 hours of community service after giving it some thought.

When the judge tried again, they agreed on a fine of 300 euros, which the man paid on the spot at the court. However, he actually had a completely different concern: "Does this mean that I'm no longer allowed to care for birds?" he asked and finally left the courtroom angrily, saying that he would "just leave the next bird lying around."