The German Animal Welfare Federation has sharply criticized yesterday's decision by the Bundestag on the 2025 agricultural budget. Despite clear commitments in the coalition agreement between the CDU/CSU and SPD, the urgently needed financial support for animal shelters has once again failed to materialize. There is also a lack of funds for the restructuring of agricultural animal husbandry – a political failure.
“The federal government promised to support animal shelters – yesterday it broke that promise. Animal welfare organizations that take in confiscated, found, and unwanted animals and bring the state's animal welfare goals to life are systemically important and have been operating at their limits for years. Nevertheless, politicians are looking the other way and ignoring any responsibility,” criticizes Thomas Schröder, president of the German Animal Welfare Federation.
The coalition agreement between the CDU/CSU and SPD states unequivocally: “We support animal shelters with investments.” The negotiators' working group papers mentioned 80 million euros for the legislative period; 20 million per year. However, the funds are not included in the 2025 budget. Attempts by Alliance 90/The Greens to make adjustments in the budget committee and allocate funds for animal shelters were simply rejected. This is yet another slap in the face for animal shelters, which have been working at their limits for years because financial hardship and overload due to high animal numbers are dramatically worsening. “Despite promises in the coalition agreement, the governing parties are obviously not willing to actually help,” says Schröder. “Those who treat animals and those who take responsibility for our fellow creatures in this way should not be surprised if trust in politics continues to dwindle.”
The situation is no better in agricultural animal husbandry: The €1.5 billion promised by Federal Minister of Agriculture Alois Rainer (CSU) for the restructuring of animal husbandry is missing from the 2025 agricultural budget. This slows down the urgently needed transformation process towards more animal-friendly husbandry – for which the “Borchert Commission” estimated an annual requirement of up to €4.3 billion. In addition: In addition to the lack of funds in the budget, the federal program for the restructuring of animal husbandry is also set to expire earlier than planned. “Rainer's decisions set the restructuring of agricultural animal husbandry back by years. His current policy abandons millions of animals and leaves farmers out in the cold – without any plan for where the journey should lead. Sustainable agriculture looks different,” said Schröder.
The German Animal Welfare Federation calls on the federal government and Agriculture Minister Rainer to keep their promises and allocate the urgently needed funds in the 2026 budget at the latest.
