An Austrian farmer has been handed a huge fine over the case of a cow stampede that killed a German woman in 2014.
He was ordered to pay the woman’s husband €490,000 in compensation by a court in Innsbruck last week.
The woman, a 45-year-old German tourist, was reportedly hiking with her dog in the Pinnistal valley area of the Austrian Alps in July 2014, when a nearby herd of cows became restless and launched an attack.
Despite the farmer saying he had erected warning signs, the court last week found him to be negligent.
The Tyrolean Chamber of Agriculture released a statement shortly after the ruling, saying the verdict posed a “massive threat to Alpine farming.”
It “is surprising and incomprehensible,” the Chamber’s president, Josef Hechenberger.
“Although this decision can be described as unfamiliar with the practice, it will be trend-setting for the future of alpine farming in Tyrol.”
Other experts have warned the huge fine could prompt other farmers to close a number of public footpaths that cross their land.
The farmer is expected to appeal the decision.
