"Hole in the belly"

Swan murder with bow and arrow

On Sunday evening, the killed swan was still swimming around on the Steyr with four of her conspecifics(Bild: zVg)

Yet another dead waterfowl has been found in Garsten (Upper Austria) that is unlikely to have died a natural death. The animal may have been cruelly staked by unknown persons. Just a few hours earlier, according to eyewitnesses, the magnificent waterfowl was still swimming around happily in the Steyr.

Margarete W. made a gruesome discovery on Monday at around 7.30 am during a walk along the Steyr in Garsten. Around 50 meters above the Kruglbrücke bridge, she suddenly saw a dead swan in the water on the opposite bank.

Animal rights activist raised the alarm
She alerted animal rights activist Doris Adami, who went there immediately and recovered the carcass from the river. "It was a swan about four years old with a hole in her stomach and intestines spilling out."

Animal rights activist Doris Adami has been counting and photographing the swan population on the Enns and Steyr rivers since 2013. She recovered the bird carcass, then couldn't eat anything all day.(Bild: Mader Klaus Fotografie)

No bite marks
Due to the smooth cut in the abdominal wall, it was clear to her that the bird could not have been killed by other animals and there were no bite marks. "A hunter I know said that the swan had probably been shot with a bow and arrow," said Adami, who first alerted the official vet and then the police.

She herself had seen four swans swimming in the area of the bridge at 8 p.m. on Sunday: "They were all still in good spirits. I've seen lots of carcasses, but the sight of this animal shook me so much that I couldn't eat all day."

The back of the carcass was intact, but the front was so torn open in the belly area that the intestines were spilling out.(Bild: zVg)

Criminal charges filed
On Tuesday, the organization Tierschutz Austria filed a criminal complaint with the police and public prosecutor's office against unknown perpetrators on suspicion of wilful killing and cruelty to animals (§ 222).