Austria: Hobby hunters are allowed to shoot dogs on 98% of the territory

The current hunting laws in Austria permit the shooting of dogs under conditions that, according to the published legal opinion by Dr. Erika Wagner, are long overdue for reform.

According to the legal opinion, dogs can only move freely without concern on two percent of the country’s territory. A free-roaming dog may be shot not only in forests, but across all meadows and fields — that is, throughout the entire hunting area (98 percent of Austria’s total land area), as the legal opinion makes clear.

Tierschutz Austria is calling for a general ban on the shooting of domestic animals, as currently only hunting dogs are protected by law. This is, in any case, a violation of the principle of equality, according to the legal opinion — since it is precisely hunting dogs, the group most readily suspected of predatory instincts, that are exempt from the right to kill under all hunting laws. The animal welfare problem of recreational hunting is particularly evident here.

«Estimates suggest that over 30’000 domestic animals are shot each year by hobby hunters in Austria — some even after being caught in live traps.» Dr. Michaela Lehner, lead legal counsel at Tierschutz Austria

«Statistik Austria keeps no figures on the shooting of domestic animals. Hobby hunters want to protect their quarry preventively. From an animal welfare perspective, death represents the greatest possible harm to any animal. And animal welfare is enshrined as a state objective in our constitution.»

Shooting of domestic animals: a relic over 300 years old

The authorization to shoot pets is a relic over 300 years old, originally directed against ownerless or escaped (particularly chain-breaking) poaching dogs. Since then, a profound and epoch-making shift in values has taken place in the human-dog relationship. Dogs hold a socially recognized status as beloved family members. More on Criminal activity in the context of hobby hunting.

Demand for a reform of hunting laws

Tierschutz Austria therefore demands a general ban on the killing of pets by hobby hunters. In Burgenland, Tyrol and Upper Austria, free-roaming dogs may be killed without restriction — in some cases even in traps. In Styria, shooting is permitted during certain months, and in Lower Austria, Vienna, Vorarlberg and Salzburg, additional but often vague or contradictory criteria apply. Tierschutz Austria points to the necessity of a federal hunting law and the citizens’ initiative established for this purpose: bundesjagdgesetz.at. More on the Hunting law.