The Bundesrat will issue its opinion tomorrow on the 5th amendment to the Animal Welfare Act, which aims to make video surveillance mandatory at larger slaughterhouses. The German Animal Welfare Federation had already called for the requirement to be extended to all slaughterhouses. At the same time, the federation supports the states’ recommendations to comprehensively revise the Animal Welfare Act and the Animal Welfare and Livestock Husbandry Ordinance. To this end, the federal government should build on the amendment drafted by the traffic-light coalition in 2024, which was not passed solely due to the premature end of the coalition.
“The states’ recommendations are logical. Anyone revising the Animal Welfare Act must seize this long-overdue opportunity to comprehensively address the existing shortcomings in animal welfare law. The federal government should adopt the Federal Council’s recommendations. The governing parties must amend the draft bill during the parliamentary process to ensure it complies with animal welfare standards,” demands Thomas Schröder, President of the German Animal Welfare Federation.
ANIMALS IN AGRICULTURE RECEIVE LITTLE TO NO PROTECTION
In their recommendations, the states acknowledge that a significant portion of animals in agriculture are inadequately protected or not protected at all by animal welfare law. They therefore call, among other things, for a ban on painful amputations and the inclusion of additional animal species, such as cattle and turkeys, in the Animal Welfare Livestock Husbandry Ordinance. This is also prompted by the landmark ruling of the Federal Administrative Court on turkey farming from April of this year.
ANIMAL WELFARE ASSOCIATION CALLS FOR FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS
In addition, the Federal Council points out that the so-called “cruel breeding clause” must be revised in accordance with animal welfare standards and that the use of robotic mowers should be regulated to protect hedgehogs. The protection of stray cats is also inadequately regulated. The German Animal Welfare Federation therefore continues to call for a nationwide mandatory neutering requirement for outdoor cats from private households. Other improvements the association deems necessary include a ban on tethering cattle, an end to live animal transports to third countries, and a clear goal for phasing out animal testing.
