54 CultureShock! Austria
special dog tax. Helmut Zilk, a former mayor, tried to clean
up the streets by hiring a French firm to vacuum up the
waste using heavy motorised ‘shit collectors’. The mayor even
accompanied these trucks on their rounds. The citizens were
not amused and the collecting machines were sent back to
France. However, because of a new city ordinance charging
dog owners €36 for not cleaning up after their pets, most
sidewalks in all districts, besides the first district, have now
become cleaner than ever.
For all the love bestowed on these animals, the government
has interesting ways of disposing of them once they are dead
or out of the reach of their owners. Dogs cannot be buried.
A law from 1919 states that all animal carcasses have to be
collected and utilised, or burned. A pet owner has to call a
special agency, TKW (Tierkörperverwertung), to remove its
corpse; if he does not, a fine could result. Recently, it was
revealed that bodies of dogs, cats and laboratory animals
ended up being processed into animal feed for pigs and
chickens. Many Austrians and environmental groups were
aghast and are trying to make the Ministry of Agriculture
change the outdated law.
Austria’s Supreme Court upheld a law that fines drivers if
they brake to avoid hitting smaller animals such as cats, lap
dogs, puppies, hares and hedgehogs. Only wild boar and deerAustrians revere their dogs and take them just about everywhere, not only
for walks on the street but also to banks, stores and restaurants.