Dogs Must Be Euthanized After Attack in Upper Austria

Following a fatal dog attack on a jogger in 2023 in Naarn, the two still-living American Staffordshire Terriers involved must also be euthanized. The Upper Austrian Administrative Court (LVwG) dismissed a complaint by the owner against a corresponding decision, it announced on Friday. One of the reasons: the stricter new dog ownership law must be applied - which was enacted as a result of the incident.

One dog already dead

In October 2023, three dogs attacked and killed a 60-year-old jogger in Naarn (Perg district). The dog owner was therefore legally convicted last year of grossly negligent homicide and sentenced to 15 months in prison, five of which are unconditional. One dog was euthanized shortly after the incident. The others were taken from the woman and placed with a dog trainer. The district administration revoked the owner's ownership of the dogs this year and ordered the painless killing of the animals due to their particular danger. The owner filed a complaint against this with the LVwG.

The woman justified her complaint by stating that the newly enacted Upper Austrian Dog Ownership Law in 2024 - the tightening of the law was due to the fatal bite attack on the jogger - was not yet applicable and therefore a new "dangerousness examination" of the dogs must be conducted. Additionally, the animals had since been given to a dog trainer specifically trained for such dogs.

Complaint dismissed

The LVwG dismissed the complaint. It found, on the one hand, "no valid transfer of ownership" on the part of the dog owner and, on the other hand, determined that the new Upper Austrian Dog Ownership Law, effective from December 1, 2024, was indeed applicable to this case. This law explicitly states that a particular danger of the dog is assumed if a person has been killed by the bite. Therefore, it follows "that the authority had to prescribe the painless killing due to the particular danger of the dogs to the dog owner as a direct consequence of the law," according to the LVwG.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.