• croatiantimes.com
• romaniantimes.at
• salzburgtimes.at
• viennatimes.at
• austrianindependent.com

Today

• Vienna - VESCC English Catholic Mass
• Vienna - Unknown Underground
• Vienna- January and February at the Austrian Film Museum
• Vienna - Art by Petronilla Hohenwarter.
• STOMP at the MuseumsQuartier

19. 01. 10. - 16:00

• more General News news
• RSS Feed General News

19. 01. 10. - 16:00

Saved avalanche pigs get chop

By David Rogers

Pigs saved from the chop after public protests stopped them being buried alive in snow by scientists are to end up as sausages, say researchers conducting the tests.

Animal rights campaigners have demanded that the Austrian scientists hand over the 19 pigs so they can be re-housed at a refuge.

Plans to bury them alive in snow and monitor their agonising deaths for avalanche survival research were scrapped at the weekend after an animal rights storm.

But now scientists conducting the tests in Sölden, Tyrol, say the pardoned animals are back on death row and will be packed off to the slaughterhouse this week.

Experiment director Peter Paal said today (Tues): "The animal rights activists will not get the pigs. That's for sure. I will not allow the pigs any charity.

"The animals were always destined to be slaughtered for the food industry and they will be taken to be slaughtered in the coming days," he added

But furious animal lovers say they will continue the fight for the pigs.

Johanna Stadler, director of the animal rights organisation "Vier Pfoten" (Four Paws)  said: "We could provide for all the pigs, everything could be prepared."

Researchers in the Tyrolean Alps had originally wanted to study the effects of being caught in an avalanche and chose pigs because of their biological similarity to humans.

Some were completely submerged and others buried up to their necks, and the time they took to die was recorded.

But the teams from the Institute of Mountain Emergency Medicine in Italy and the Medical University of Innsbruck stopped the tests after killing ten of 29 pigs following public outrage.

Austrian Times

Set up tax on financial transactions soon, says Katzian
The head of the Association of Private Employees (GPA-djp) has called for a quick introduction of a tax on financial transactions.

Pühringer rejects U-turn on rightist ball
Young Social Democrats (SPÖ) have appealed to Upper Austrian Governor Josef Pühringer not to attend the Burschenbundball in Linz this Saturday.

FPÖ under fire after trip to Grozny
The Freedom Party (FPÖ) has been harshly criticised for meeting with Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov.

WKO boss wants pension age hike incentives
Federal Economy Chamber (WKO) President Christoph Leitl has identified attempts to raise the average retirement age as the key issue regarding Austria’s budget.

Woman and child run over in Vienna
A woman and child have died in a road accident in Vienna, Austria. The lorry driver was making a right turn when he drove into a group of pedestrians leaving a 59-year-old and a 12-year-old dead. The mother of the school girl was left with serious injuries.

Schlecker says Austrian jobs are safe
The son of Schlecker founder Anton Schlecker has claimed that the company has no plans to sell its Austrian affiliate.

SPÖ sees smaller parliament as key signal
The general secretary of the Social Democrats (SPÖ) has argued his support for a reduction of the size of the parliament.

Austrian food to feature in organic trade fair
Austria is expected to be well represented at next week’s BioFach 2012 international organic trade fair in Nuremberg, Germany. Some 90 companies and organisations from the Austrian organic good sector will feature at the fair from 15 to 18 February.

Brothel for the homeless in Vienna
Homeless people are queueing up for free rooms in an Austrian brothel after owner Peter Laskaris said it would be unfair not to do everything he could during the current cold spell.

Deep-freeze snacks for orangutans in Schönbrunn
The lucky orangutans who take up residence in Europe’s oldest zoo have been indulging in a twice weekly take-away. Despite the trees in Schönbrunn Zoo in Vienna, Austria now being completely bare the fury friends have fresh branches and leaves delivered twice a week.