Illegal dog removal:

Criminal proceedings against official veterinarians dropped

At the end of 2022, twelve sled dogs were taken from a Styrian following an anonymous complaint. This was unlawful, as a court ruled. As a result, criminal proceedings were initiated against the official veterinarians, which were recently discontinued. However, the matter is not yet off the table...

There was a huge uproar in Turnau in December 2022. Back then, twelve sled dogs were taken from Christian Kuhn following an anonymous complaint. The man had severely neglected his animals, was the reason given by the authorities at the time - which Kuhn always denied.

As the Provincial Administrative Court later found, the confiscation was in fact unlawful. The inspection had been ordered even though the responsible veterinarian had not even seen the facility or the animals in person, and there had been no expert opinion required for the inspection at the time. The court was also unable to confirm that the animals were in a poor condition. They therefore had to be returned immediately. However, this only happened in part. Although the proceedings were still ongoing, three dogs were passed on to new owners. 

Criminal proceedings initiated
These circumstances also led to criminal proceedings for abuse of authority against the representatives of the authorities. "We are investigating a lawyer and two official veterinarians", the responsible public prosecutor's office in Leoben was told at the time in response to a "Krone" inquiry. However, it has been clear for some time that the criminal investigation against them has been closed. My client did not commit any misconduct, which is why the proceedings against him had to be dropped," says lawyer Andreas Kleinbichler, who represents an official veterinarian. 

Particularly in light of the fact that the Provincial Administrative Court ruled that the removal was grossly unlawful and that we are still fighting for the return of the dogs, the discontinuation of the proceedings is incomprehensible

Anwalt Marc Simbürger

Kuhn's lawyer Marc Simbürger cannot agree with this: "Especially in light of the fact that the provincial administrative court ruled that the acceptance was grossly unlawful and we are still fighting for the return of the dogs, the suspension of the proceedings is incomprehensible." He has filed an application for continuation. "This is currently before the court for a decision," says Viktoria Steinecker, spokesperson for the Leoben public prosecutor's office. 

Accused official veterinarian as an expert witness
What also annoys Simbürger is that administrative criminal proceedings are still ongoing, which are primarily concerned with whether the sled dogs were adequately fed. This was independent of the completed acceptance procedure. Despite the connection, a veterinarian who was involved in the inspection and who was under investigation was used in these proceedings.