Only aggressive dogs or dogs with suffering may be euthanized. The cause of the debate is the dog regulation according to which since two weeks 42 dog breeds may only be kept as an exception.
Most animal shelters are overcrowded, because many dogs are abandoned.
In a letter known to Reuters, the district government had requested its cities and communities to euthanize abandoned animals after a period of 35 days, as they could not be placed into new homes anymore. A spokesperson of the authority said that no mass killing was intended but that on an individual basis is would be sensible to put down fighting dogs. Hoehn said about the letter that her Ministry intervened with the District Administration so that no dogs are allowed to be euthanized without a reason. It is not the aim of the dog regulation to kill animals but to protect people from fighting dogs. The State will help its communities within the next days, to set up new shelters for abandonded or turned in dogs.