An MP from Lower Austria has been widely criticized for accusing immigrant dogs of causing congestion and damaging animal shelters in the country.
Gottfried Waldhausl, who is member of the far-right Austrian Freedom Party (FPO) that is part of Austria’s coalition government, made his statements after touring dog shelters in two of the province’s cities.
People denounced the politician’s statements, accusing him of racism against dogs, not just humans. His party is vocal about its anti-immigration policy.
They said his statements will not address the problem, but will rather offend the region and the government that is unable to prevent the smuggling of small dogs.
Waldhausl’s attempts to calm the outrage failed and he even posted a statement on his Facebook page that revealed that six out of every 10 dogs in shelters are from immigrant origins.
This prompted his critics to accuse him of trying to divert attention from new controversial measures the government is seeking to legalize, such as seizing and inspecting migrant telephones to verify the route they took to reach Austria.
