As part of their routine checks on the 7th and 8th of October, police on the border with Hungary, stopped and searched 75 trucks, buses and transport vehicles.
In addition to hundreds of reports for speeding, a Romanian van caught the eye of officials. When they looked inside, a horrific scene awaited them.
A travelling pet shop
It turned out that the vehicle was a moving pet shop, on its way to Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands with 46 dogs and 4 cats crammed into wire cages in the back!
The horrific sight was upsetting for even the most experienced of inspectors, who ultimately banned the driver entry into Austria.
An uncertain future
In addition to a violation of the Animal Transport Act, the transporter was also found to be completely overloaded, by a whopping 650kg.
The Romanian driver claimed he had loaded the dogs to deliver them to their owners in Germany, among other countries.
Sadly, this is one case in many. The illegal pet trade still represents an enormous problem, with many dogs and cats being bred and transported inhumanely each year.
For the animals found on the truck, confiscation may have marked the beginning of a new beginning. But as the van was denied entry, they travelled back to an uncertain future.
