Couple in court

Two dogs also died in the heat in Wels

The next shocking case of animal cruelty in Upper Austria: as has only just become known, an incident similar to the one in Aurach am Hongar occurred at the end of April. In this case, the justice system is also involved, as the owners of the animals will soon be on trial.

The couple from Hungary are said to have left a Belgian shepherd and a black greyhound in the car. The animals were each locked in a transport crate and the 20-year-old and 22-year-old parked their Volkswagen station wagon in Wels in the blazing sun, according to the indictment from the Wels public prosecutor's office.

The animals died just as agonizingly as their conspecifics in Aurach am Hongar. On August 1, the two Hungarians will stand trial in Wels on suspicion of cruelty to animals. However, it has not yet been decided whether criminal proceedings will be brought in the current case.

Following an anonymous call to the Vöcklabruck district authority - the owner of the dead German shepherds is expected to be fined soon - the public prosecutor's office must now also take action in the case. The lawyer for the Innviertel animal welfare organization Pfotenhilfe has filed charges of cruelty to animals (§ 222 of the Criminal Code). But that's not all: because the carcasses of the pedigree animals that died in a dog trailer were disposed of immediately, there is also a suspicion of suppression of evidence.

Background: The animal drama - as reported - only came to light three days later. The carcasses had already disappeared by then. They would have been necessary for the investigation to clarify how the dogs died.