Association against animal factories (Austria)
| Association against animal factories (VGT) |
|
|---|---|
| legal form |
Association ( ZVR : 837615029) |
| founding | June 16, 1992 in Vienna |
| Seat | Vienna ( ⊙ ) |
| motto | We give animals a voice |
| main emphasis | Animal welfare for farm animals |
| Action space | Austria |
| people | Martin Balluch (chairman), Harald Balluch (managing director) |
| sales | approx. € 1 million |
| Volunteers | about 400 |
| Members | approx. 18,000 |
| Website | www.vgt.at |
The Verein gegen Tierfabriken (VGT) Austria was founded in 1992. VGT Austria is committed to animal welfare .
The foundation was inspired by the association of the same name in Switzerland , which was founded in 1989 . Today, however, there is no longer any connection between the clubs.
description
With representations in Graz, Innsbruck, Linz, Salzburg, St. Pölten, Wiener Neustadt and Vienna as well as active groups in Burgenland, Carinthia and Vorarlberg, the association has around 18,000 members. It is the bearer of the Austrian seal of approval for donations and is financed exclusively through private funds. The managing director is Harald Balluch , the chairman is his brother, Martin . The association is a member of the Association of Austrian Animal Welfare Organizations - pro-tier.at (Association pro-tier), is Austria's representative in the organization “European Network for Farm Animal Protection” (formerly “European Coalition for Farm Animals”) and works as a Austrian partner organization on projects with the largest international animal welfare organization PeTA .
The association's magazine is called Tierschutz consequently and appears three times a year with a circulation of 25,000 copies.
Goal setting and methods
In recognition of a cross- species and pathocentric (basic) legal term, the association tries, according to its own statement,
"The vision of a just, ecologically and ethically responsible coexistence of all in this world (...)"
to represent without reservation according to the principle of non-violence.
In practice, the association promotes plant-based lifestyles such as veganism or vegetarianism , the rejection of hunting , animal experiments , furs , the transport of live animals and the support of similar concerns. The VGT conducts most of the animal rights-motivated rallies in Austria.
The VGT is mainly active in Austria and strives to improve animal welfare laws. A delegate from the VGT worked as an expert for the drafting of animal protection regulations in the Austrian National Council. The VGT sees itself as playing a key role in the prohibition of fur farms, wild animal circuses, chicken laying batteries, caging of rabbits and the achievement of a uniform national animal welfare law in Austria, as well as in the establishment of animal welfare organizations with political parties for the animals concerned.
The VGT has been organizing animal rights congresses in Austria since 2002 for international exchange on animal law issues. In years without an animal rights congress , the association holds free Animal Liberation Weekends (ALWs) in different locations in Europe. These mostly two-day workshops offer non-binding contacts, practical assistance and theoretical background information to facilitate entry into animal rights activism.
As part of the Animal Welfare in Classroom project , the VGT offers cross-border courses at schools.
Acquittal of the charge of forming a criminal organization
On May 21, 2008, in the course of an Austria-wide raid by the police, ten activists from various animal welfare and animal rights organizations, including three VGT members, were arrested on charges of forming a criminal organization under the pseudonym Animal Liberation Front . The measures taken in the course of the Wiener Neustadt animal welfare process led to protests and criticism in many media, with human rights organizations and politicians.
From March 2nd, 2010, 13 animal rights activists had to face, among other things, involvement in a criminal organization in the Wr. Responsible for Neustadt. They were acquitted on May 2, 2011 for lack of evidence of all charges on all counts. The prosecutor, the head of the special commission and three other officials a. complaints were filed with the corruption prosecutor for abuse of office , false testimony, forgery of documents and deprivation of liberty. A claim for damages filed in this connection was dismissed. On September 16, 2014, Martin Balluch published excerpts from his appeal against this decision, financed through solidarity donations, in his blog. After appeals against this judgment were rejected by the Higher Regional Court of Vienna in 2017 and by the Supreme Court in 2018 , a corresponding action was also rejected by the European Court of Human Rights in February 2019 .
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Official website of the association pro-tier list of member organizations
- ↑ VGT at a glance ( Memento from April 21, 2017 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Official website for the animal rights congresses in Austria
- ^ Official site of the Animal Liberation Weekends
- ↑ First “Animal Welfare in Class” lesson in Passau! ( Memento from April 20, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Proceedings against 28 activists discontinued Proceedings against 28 activists discontinued ( Memento from July 12, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) ORF NÖ Online report from February 2, 2010
- ^ Tierschuetzer process: An acquittal as a sweeping report in Der Standard from May 3, 2011
- ↑ Gruene Soko reported to the Corruption Prosecutor's Office in Der Standard dated May 3, 2011
- ↑ Balluch's claim for damages dismissed Report in Der Standard of July 30, 2014
- ^ Claim for damages blog entry by Martin Balluch on his appeal against the rejected claim for damages
- ^ OGH rejects Balluch lawsuit against the Republic of ORF Vienna Online report of March 8, 2018
- ↑ Animal welfare lawsuit rejected by ECHR, report by ORF Online dated February 6, 2019