“Manni” bleated loudly

Police rescue sheep from car—owner was asleep

Forest sheep ram “Manni” after being freed from the car.(Bild: Icara Tierrettung)

The night owls were quite surprised when, after midnight, they suddenly heard a sheep bleating in an underground parking garage in Wels. The police, who were alerted, found the ram “Manni” and the owner, who was asleep in his apartment and even defended the inhumane treatment of the animal. What happens next is still unclear.

Baa! Night owls in Wels could hardly believe their ears when they heard loud bleating in an underground parking garage in the city late at night. The women alerted the police, who arrived there around 1:15 a.m. and discovered a sheep locked in the trunk of an SUV—without food or water.

The owner (46) was tracked down using the license plate; he was reportedly sleeping in his apartment. When the police contacted him and explained that this method of transport was neither proper nor humane, he reportedly said that a dog wouldn’t be transported any differently.

Destined for Lower Austria
The police alerted Icara Animal Rescue, which took care of the ram “Manni.” “We took the animal to the animal shelter in Freistadt that very night,” says chairman Georg Pold. According to his information, the 46-year-old intended to use the sheep for breeding and was taking it to the Hollabrunn district in Lower Austria for that purpose. It could not be determined how long the animal had already been locked in the trunk.

“I won’t sell anything else to that man”
The Wels municipal authorities are currently reviewing what will happen next with “Manni.” “We have contacted the Hollabrunn district office to determine whether proper animal husbandry standards are in place there. If that is the case, the sheep can be transported there in an approved vehicle,” the “Krone” was told in response to its inquiry. The seller from the Innviertel would also take the ram back. “He said he certainly won’t sell anything else to that man,” says Georg Pold.