Police and armed forces on alert: protection dogs in danger!

Police and armed forces on alert: protection dogs in danger!

A new ban on training protection dogs for civilian breeders raises serious questions about the future security of police and the armed forces. As the crown reports, Green Minister Johannes Rauch issued a regulation on his last day in office that will come into force on April 15th. This ban means that private breeders are no longer licensed to train service dogs, which poses major risks to the quality of the dogs used. Until now, protection dogs were bred and evaluated by private breeders before they were taken over by the police and army.

With the elimination of this preliminary assessment, which was guaranteed by private breeders, the Federal Army fears a “significant risk”. It is noted that although the Army breeds its own Rottweilers and Malinois, it still relies on additional dogs to strengthen the bloodline. In the future, however, these dogs will either be bought “in the dark” or from abroad - and there is a risk of receiving lower-quality animals, as the strict animal welfare standards abroad may not have the same importance as in Austria. This was also done in Military Dog Center in Kaisersteinbuch made it clear where the service dogs are bred and trained.

Critical effects on personnel recruitment

The ban not only impacts dog training, but also the recruitment of military dog ​​handlers. Around 40 percent of dog handlers have so far been recruited from dog sports. With the new law, a decline in the recruitment rate is expected, as fewer applicants with sufficient knowledge are likely to enter the training. These developments could lead to serious bottlenecks and endanger the operational effectiveness of the police and the armed forces. There are currently over 170 military dogs and more than 120 dog handlers on duty, contributing to security and various missions both at home and abroad, such as disaster relief.