The authority’s “hip shot” against swans is invalid

The hunters, who had not had much fun with the ordered hunt of five mute swans that had grazed and defecated on the meadows on the banks of the Enns in Lahrnsdorf, were not so quick to shoot. The State Administrative Court upheld the appeal of an animal protection association and overturned the Steyr district administration’s decision on compulsory shooting.

• Also read: Forced shooting of young swans? Procedure must be repeated

Farmers had complained that a colony of 40 swans had settled in their meadows and defecated on them, meaning they could no longer feed hay and grass to their cows. The poultry are causing serious economic damage to their farms. In response to the complaints that have been made for years, the Steyr-Land BH ordered that five young swans should be shot to scare them away. As has now emerged before the State Administrative Court, the authority had fired a “shot in the hip”.

She would have had to justify her order for the forced shooting with an agricultural expert report on the damage caused to the arable land by the swans, which the hunting expert from the Steyr-Land BH had himself requested. The authorities had not provided anything, which is why they now have to make a new decision on the case.