Lamb found in back seat has found surrogate mom

On August 17, passers-by called the police after seeing a young lamb in the back seat of a car. The vehicle belonged to a 49-year-old Berliner who received the lamb as a gift during a family vacation in Croatia in early July. After a short visit to Salzburg, the family wanted it “chili” take home the baptized lamb.

The police officers then informed an official veterinarian, who pointed out that animal transport and quarantine regulations had not been complied with. The lamb was therefore handed over to the animal welfare organization PFOTENHILFE for a four-week quarantine. In the course of a veterinary examination, some blood tests were done and “chili” had to be looked after intensively due to a lack of nutrients.

“chili” has found a replacement mom

The lamb is doing much better now. The Stadler family from PFOTENHILFE has taken it in with them – they can let off steam in their large sheep-free garden. “chili” Jürgen Stadler already has as “substitute mom” accepted and very affectionate. The lamb was even welcomed happily by the family’s pack of dogs.

Originally, the Berlin family should have kept the sheep after the four-week quarantine, but the Pfotenhilfe sees the long transport to East Germany and the forthcoming individual housing as a problem “illegal animal cruelty”. The animal welfare expert and former official veterinarian Prof. Dr. Rudolph Winkelmayer says: “The most reasonable and animal-friendly way would be to leave the lamb with the PFOTENHILFE. There it is well cared for, there it has its reference persons, which is immensely important for its well-being. Anything else, including another long-distance animal transport, would only be stress for the animal and a completely unnecessary deterioration that nobody can want.”