Demolition of dead cattle

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The practice of blowing up dead cattle was practiced in Austria in the state of Vorarlberg until at least 2001 . The purpose was the inexpensive disposal of cattle that had died in hard-to-reach places.

background

If a cow or similar cattle dies outside the slaughterhouse as a result of lightning strikes, falls, illness or for a similar reason, in Austria the owner, i.e. usually the farmer , is responsible for the removal and disposal of the carcass , for water protection and to ensure an intact landscape . Around 20 such deaths occur in the Vorarlberg Alps every year. If the carcass is on an alpine pasture or in any other place that can not be reached by truck , it can only be removed by helicopter . This cost 15,000 Austrian schillings in 2001 . Adjusted for inflation, this corresponds to around 1,500 euros in 2020 .

Although at least in Vorarlberg 80 percent of these transport costs were covered by the federal state, so the farmer only had to pay around 3,000 schillings for the helicopter, it was customary there to instead destroy the animals by blowing them up on site. In 2001 this only cost 500 schillings. Thus, the farmer was able to save approx. 2,500 schillings (approx. 250 euros) by blasting. The explosion tore the animal into smaller pieces, which should then rot faster or be disposed of by scavengers such as birds and foxes. The explosion was either brought about by demolition experts , which in turn meant increased costs, or by the farmers themselves.

Legal situation in Vorarlberg

According to the ordinance of the governor on the disposal of animal waste , which was in force from December 19, 1997 to March 15, 2004 (as amended), according to § 2 for “bodies and body parts of all dead, stillborn, unborn and for the purpose the fight against epidemics or the elimination of dead animals "an obligation to deliver to a recycling company .

Exceptions to the delivery obligation existed only in certain cases. In particular, according to Section 3 (1):

"Animal waste is not subject to the obligation to deliver if it occurs only occasionally and its weight does not exceed 40 kg, provided it is disposed of on our own property or within the scope of hunting without unreasonable environmental damage. [...] "

Suitable explosives were relatively easy to obtain in Austria: technically correct, there is no detonation at all, since mostly a black powder charge ( gunpowder ) was used, which is not part of the explosives , but is part of pyrotechnics and, in Austria, for example, for agricultural starfish defense, also by trained people Laymen were allowed to be possessed in larger quantities ( Pyrotechnics Act  1976).

Discussion and public perception

The blasting of dead cattle in Vorarlberg became known to the general public in 2001 when Fritz Amann , the then Vice-President of the Vorarlberg State Parliament, criticized this supposedly "common" practice in a plenary session and took photographs of it. Immediately afterwards, in the same meeting, the State Councilor for Agriculture, Environmental Protection and Forestry, Erich Schwärzler , promised to stop these explosions.

The cow blasts in Vorarlberg then received worldwide media coverage.

The process was occasionally defended as environmentally friendly, inexpensive or efficient.

criticism

The state councilor Erich Schwärzler, who is responsible for environmental protection in the state parliament, feared that the carcasses could contaminate the groundwater. In the tourist region, tourists can also lose their desire to hike due to carcass parts rotting in meadows. It happens that large pieces of the animals are left behind.

Further development

The provincial governor's ordinance on reporting, delivery, forwarding and acceptance of animal by-products and materials , which came into force on March 15, 2004 in Vorarlberg , obliges producers of animal waste to deliver them to or have them picked up by the recycler without exception. For this, the full cost assumption by the state for the collection of so-called fallen animals was approved, which eliminated the economic motivation for the blasting.

Similar occurrences in other countries

The Vorarlberg-born action artist Wolfgang Flatz caused a stir in Berlin in July 2001 with his performance Fleisch , in the course of which he dropped a slaughtered cattle from a helicopter from a height of 40 m and had it burst on the ground.

In 2012, six cows in Colorado , USA, froze to death in a mountain hut where they had apparently sought refuge. The responsible authorities considered blowing up the frozen carcass and hut. In such cases, this is a tried and tested procedure that has also been used with moose and horses .

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Michael Leidig: The hills are alive with the sound of exploding cows. In: The Telegraph. April 8, 2001, accessed July 6, 2014 .
  2. ↑ a b c Vorarlberg: Where cow carcasses explode. In: SPIEGEL ONLINE. April 19, 2001, accessed July 6, 2014 .
  3. ↑ a b Ordinance of the governor on the disposal of animal waste. (No longer available online.) In: Landesrecht Vorarlberg. Federal Chancellery Austria, Legal Information System (RIS), December 19, 1997, formerly in the original ; Retrieved July 6, 2014 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.ris.bka.gv.at
  4. ↑ a b Minutes of the 3rd meeting of the XXVII. Vorarlberger Landtag in 2001 - Agenda Item 3. (PDF, 245 kB) Vorarlberger Landtag, April 4, 2001, accessed on July 6, 2014 : “In the summer on the Vorarlberg Alps, there is the problem that accidents occur again and again the livestock comes ... "
  5. ^ No More Exploding Cows in Austria. ABC News, April 19, 2001, accessed July 6, 2014 .
  6. ^ Ordinance of the governor on reporting, delivery, forwarding and acceptance of animal by-products and materials. In: Vorarlberg regional law. Federal Chancellery Austria, Legal Information System (RIS), March 15, 2004, accessed on July 6, 2014 (see in particular Section 9 “Fee for fallen animals”).
  7. ↑ The “Fleisch” performance by the artist Flatz. Max 15/2001, accessed on July 6, 2014 (PDF; 781 kB), p. 184.
  8. ↑ Iris Brennberger-Zens: Flatz floated, the dead cow fell from the sky. On: berliner-zeitung.de. July 20, 2001, accessed July 6, 2014.
  9. ↑ Nature Morte . In: Falter . No. 11.4 . Falter Verlagsgesellschaft, Vienna March 10, 2004 (quoted in the TIER DER WOCHE column by Peter Iwaniewicz).
  10. ↑ Sarah Wagner: With explosives against frozen cows. Cattle lost their way in the Rocky Mountains. In: FOCUS Online. April 18, 2012, accessed July 6, 2014 .
  11. ↑ Associated Press: Frozen cows in cabin spur warnings at hot springs. At: ArkansasOnline.com. April 24, 2012, accessed on July 6, 2014 (with picture of the hut from April 6, 2012).