Cruel fate or new home

Animal Care Austria (ACA) was founded in 2006 by the Austrian pianist Renate Grell and the American opera singer Carol Byers to help animals in need. Since then a group of unpaid volunteers have been campaigning nationally and internationally for specific animal protection projects.

ACA is attempting to promote animal protection particularly in south-eastern Europe by strengthening international relations. Renate Grell spoke with wieninternational.at about the organisation’s projects, the challenge of making people aware of the situation of animals and the truly desperate plight of some animals.

wieninternational.at: Why did you found Animal Care Austria and what were your goals?
Renate Grell: Carol Byers and I had been active for years in other animal protection associations and decided in 2006 to set up Animal Care Austria together. Our aim was to promote animal protection not only in Austria but also in neighbouring countries and to make everything “legal”. This meant that the animals – particularly dogs and cats – that we rescued from Hungary, Bosnia or Serbia had to be vaccinated, dewormed and chipped, and the old ones also castrated.




wieninternational.at: What projects do you support abroad?
Renate Grell: Apart from Austria, we are mainly active in Serbia, Bosnia and Hungary. My colleague Claudia Schraml and I are involved in an animal refuge in Niš, the second largest city in Serbia, and the animal pound in Sarajevo. Carol Byers looks after our partner project in Hungary. These cooperative arrangements developed in response to appeals for help. For example, we were contacted by Jelena Kostic, an animal protection activist in Serbia who manages a dog shelter in Niš with around 470 animals. She does what she can but she has neither the resources nor the time to look after all of the dogs and to find owners for them. The situation there is much worse than in an Austrian animal shelter. The premises are not fenced in and there is neither water nor electricity. The animals are exposed to extreme weather conditions ranging from insufferable heat to temperatures below freezing. We simply had to do something to help.

wieninternational.at: What kind of support does Animal Care Austria offer?
Renate Grell: We focus mainly on local development aid. We also bring animals to Austria and find homes for them, but if we did only that we would be missing the point. There are far too many suffering animals in these countries. We provide our partner animal shelters with food and finance castrations and operations for injured animals. In Niš we are trying to arrange cooperation between the local animal protection association and the city council. We are asking, as has already happened in Bosnia, that the existing animal slaughterhouses be transformed into quarantine stations for castrated animals. Imagine that until summer 2009 alone the mayor of Niš had put up 70,000 euros to have animals killed rather than castrated. This is an illustration of the thinking that unfortunately still prevails in many south-east European countries. If this money were used in future for castration, the problem would sooner or later resolve itself. It might sound hard, but animals that aren’t born in the first place cannot be killed. This is still the cheapest and commonest way of avoiding unwanted animals.




wieninternational.at: What differences in attitudes to animals do you notice between Austria and south-east European countries and why do you think they exist?
Renate Grell: It comes from the fact that the people don’t have very much themselves. An animal is lower in the hierarchy than a human, so what can a dog or a cat expect? There are, of course, people in Bosnia and Serbia who do everything they can for animals – as our local partners illustrate – but animal protection activists are extensively frowned upon. People tend to think that an animal is worthless and has no feelings. In Austria it’s different. We have the possibility of reporting the mistreatment of animals to the authorities. What the officials do, of course, is another matter.

wieninternational.at: What do you think of animal protection in Austria?
Renate Grell: There are people here who are really willing to help. Animal Care Austria has three directors: Carol Byers, Claudia Schraml and I. In Bosnia Mariane Ruiz is also very active and has started up an extensive castration programme. But that’s about all that our hard work has been able to achieve.

wieninternational.at: Why are animals so important to you? Would you say that it is a vocation?
Renate Grell: Absolutely. Animals have always been important for me and I have always had a special relationship with them. Animals are so honest – and I say that without bitterness. You don’t find the same honesty in people. We are bound by rules and conventions. Animals are simply what they are. My vocation has become a commitment.




wieninternational.at: How can Animal Care Austria be supported? What do you need most?
Renate Grell: It is often the simplest things. For example Jelena Kostic from Serbia urgently required a digital camera, since it’s impossible to find a good home for an animal without a representative photo. I bought a camera out of my own pocket. Officially the camera was given to Jelena by my dog Timo – who was also a former stray dog in Serbia, by the way – so as not to embarrass her (laughs). We are naturally reliant on donations and sponsors – be it for food, medical supplies or transport. We have enormous monthly overheads for our projects abroad. Added to that are extremely high charges for bank transfers abroad, particularly to nonEU countries like Serbia and Bosnia. On our website we have a list of how much each of the things we need costs, so donors can see what can be purchased with their donation. We are always glad to welcome new members. At the moment membership for projects in Serbia and Bosnia costs 20 euros a month and includes various benefits. It is also possible to adopt an old animal that can no longer be found a home and make a regular donation for its upkeep. There is also a shortage of foster homes. This is the first requirement before an animal can come to Austria and therefore of extreme importance.

wieninternational.at: How does one apply to obtain an animal from Animal Care Austria?
Renate Grell: All of the animals for which a home is being sought can be seen on our website  www.animalcare-austria.at  We concentrate mainly on cats and dogs. If you are looking for an animal from Hungary, you can also go there to visit it. At present the animals from Bosnia and Serbia can only be seen on the Internet and can then be picked up immediately after they arrive in Austria. You can offer a foster or permanent home. The foster home with permanent option is often chosen by people who already have pets and want to see whether they can get on with the new animal. This way the animals and their prospective owners can get to know one another without stress.

wieninternational.at:  If an animal comes to Austria, is it given away immediately or is there an ACA animal shelter here?
Renate Grell: Not at the moment. We are hoping to open a transit station in February where prospective owners can examine their future pets at their leisure.




wieninternational.at: What do you look out for in particular when finding homes for animals?
Renate Grell: We interview prospective owners several times so as to be sure that the animal will find a good home. We often speak with vets about their experience with the family concerned. Usually the feedback is positive. When the animal is handed over, the new owners have to sign an agreement and pay a fee of 220 euros. In return they obtain a completely healthy animal with a vaccination certificate. We also operate on the principle that for every animal we give away here, an animal should be castrated in the country of origin. In that way we help twice over.

wieninternational.at: Is there a Christmas message you would like to pass on to existing and potential animal lovers?
Renate Grell: Lots of people call us at this time of year because they want a Christmas present. We point out that living beings are not suitable as presents. We insist that the recipients know what they are getting and they really agree to it. Unfortunately we have seen in the past that in many cases Christmas surprises of this type don’t get the welcome they deserve. The Christmas spirit should prevail all year round. Puppies are cute, but they can still bring a lot of joy when they are grown.