3rd Animal Welfare Day

Blue light for animal rights activists: service dog in action

The SIG presented its skills with the service dog squadron(Bild: Jennifer Kapellari)

Dogs, cats, pigs, sheep, goats - no matter which animal; they were all given a voice again on Saturday. The police were also out in force for the third Animal Welfare Day.

For the third time, around two thousand animal lovers flocked to Neuer Platz in Klagenfurt yesterday. Once again, everything there revolved around our beloved four-legged friends - specifically, what a good life for animals looks like. "We were once again able to attract many important organizations as exhibitors this year," said Klagenfurt local councillor and organizer Michael Gussnig.

Numerous exhibitors informed the animal-loving visitors at Neuer Platz in Klagenfurt about everything to do with animal welfare.(Bild: Stadtkommunikation/Kasper)

Bloodhound "Willi" had tracked down the missing mayor Christian Scheider in no time at all!(Bild: StadtKommunikation/Thomas Hude)

In addition to the Tiko animal shelter, the Gut Aiderbichl sanctuary and the Melcherhof, the Association Against Animal Factories (VGT), the Samaritans, the K9 Pro Search Dog Squadron, "Findmyfriend", as well as the Katzencafé, Hundejause, Therapiehunde Kärnten and many more were also represented.

"Offender" restrained by police dog
However, the special highlight was definitely the police dog demonstration: "We simulated an operational exercise in which a criminal - played by a colleague in a full protection suit - had to be restrained by a police dog until the Rapid Intervention Group (SIG) could make an arrest," explains Egon Muggi, head of training for police dogs in Carinthia. The basic training for the four-legged police dogs takes two years, and the audience was enthusiastic.