Suspect bragged to police that he slaughtered the tragic stray so he’d be able to kill his former lover.
Suspect bragged to police that he slaughtered the tragic stray so he’d be able to kill his former lover.
FEBRUARY 21, 2021 — An Austrian man, who offered to look after a dog from an animal shelter, stabbed it to death with a kitchen knife in order to get some practice in for murdering his ex.
The claim was made by the man when interviewed by cops over the killing of the dog near the city of Klagenfurt in the Austrian state Carinthia. The three-year-old dog named Roxy was found stabbed to death in a rubbish dump in late January.
The canine, which was a mixed breed of Shepherd-Doberman, had been placed under the care of an unnamed 40-year-old man by the local animal welfare center TIKO.
TIKO Director Kristina Koschier said they had never encountered a similar case before and nobody could explain the brutality of the killing.
Recently leaked information has revealed the public prosecutor decided to have him remanded in custody after he admitted it was a test run for an attack against a former lover.
It is unclear why he decided to confess when quizzed by cops but the admission led the authorities to detain the man who still remains in custody.
The suspect was able to obtain the dog after he volunteered to care for Roxy during a period of time while the center looked for a permanent home, which was not expected to take long.
However, TIKO members became suspicious after the suspect did not report back which led them to track the canine’s chip to the waste dump.
Roxy had stab wounds all over her body which were presumably carried out with a kitchen knife, according to investigations.
The suspect remains in custody, but it is unclear when his trial is expected to occur.
As per a report by Animal Protection Index, the Animal Welfare Act 2004, amended in 2017, is the main animal protection legislation in Austria. This Act defines animals as ‘fellow creatures’ to humans and is largely applicable to all vertebrates, cephalopods, and decapod crustaceans.
“Austria has banned the tattooing and the dying of an animal’s skin, fur or feathers. In 2017, the online advertising of pets for sale was banned,” it said. “On 16 May 2017, the Minister for Hunting and Rural Affairs in the Austrian province of Lower Austria announced a ban on the hunting of captive-bred wild animals in enclosures.”
The Federal Ministry of Health is responsible for animal welfare in Austria and cooperates with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment, and Water Management to work on animal welfare issues concerning farm animals. Each of the nine Austrian states appoints an Animal Protection Ombudsperson to act as independent, non-governmental representative of the interests of animal welfare.
“There are three animal welfare bodies at the federal level,” said the study. “The Animal Protection Commission directly advises the Ministry of Health on animal welfare issues, in particular with regards to its animal welfare working plan; the Animal Protection Council drafts position papers using the latest scientific evidence available, and the Animal Protection Enforcement Advisory Board monitors compliance with animal welfare legislation.”
(Edited by Saptak Datta and Vaibhav Vishwanath Pawar)
