Father & son accused

Trial in Graz: Broiler chickens crushed with tractor

83 and 55 years old are the farmers - father and son - who are on trial in Graz today. The younger one drove over the defenseless animals with a tractor in the chicken fattening house. According to the indictment, the older man did not kill the surviving animals but left them to their fate.

The first defendant, the 83-year-old, has difficulty understanding what Judge Martin Heissenberger is saying and has to repeat his words over and over again. The elderly Styrian and his son (55) have never had to deal with the court before. Their defense lawyer speaks of a campaign to draw attention to animal suffering. He also understands this, but many of the things denounced are not relevant under criminal law, only under administrative law. Since the incident, the family has suffered enormous damage. "The business was removed from the AMA and banned, the life's work is gone. All I can say about the incident itself is that the video is of course terrible to watch. But it was an accident."

"The AMA is partly to blame"
What he lacks is a sense of how fattening really works in Austria. In this system, the farmer is just a small wheel in the system where the consumer doesn't want to pay anything. "And the AMA is partly to blame. After incidents, it distances itself from farms that have complied with all regulations." The accusation is actually an accusation against the system. A system in which the farmer has no say. It is impossible to control 30,000 animals as an individual. The fact that his client ran over a chicken with the tractor was an accident. 

He shows remorse: "You don't do that for a living, I'm sorry. I would never willfully kill an animal. I drove into it in reverse. It's always dark here. Only the loader casts a small light. There are normally no chickens where I was driving. If it's dark, they don't move either. I can usually always drive there. Nothing like this has ever happened before." However, the animals that were run over were visible in the beam of light, the judge pointed out to the defendant. "It only moves when the tire rolls over it." "I didn't see it," the defendant insists.

There are normally no chickens where I was driving. If it's dark, they don't move either. I can usually always drive there.

Der angeklagte Landwirt

His elderly father is said not to have killed two of the surviving but seriously injured chickens. However, Judge Martin Heissenberger is unsure about his ability to stand trial and would like to obtain an expert opinion.

The run-over should never have happened. If the animal died immediately, it at least suffered no pain. The surviving animals have certainly suffered at least three minutes of unnecessary agony and corresponding pain. You simply have to be careful when driving.

Der Gutachter

In the opinion of the expert, an official veterinarian, driving over and not killing the two surviving animals must be regarded as cruel mistreatment. He recognized a total of five chickens brought together, two of which were still flapping afterwards. "The running over should never have happened. If the animal died immediately, at least it didn't suffer any pain. The surviving animals have certainly suffered at least three minutes of unnecessary agony and corresponding pain. You simply have to be careful when driving."

A verdict will not be reached on today's trial day due to the lack of an expert opinion on the 83-year-old's fitness to stand trial. It will be adjourned.