For this year's World Animal Day (October 4), the German Animal Welfare Federation and its member organizations have proclaimed the motto “Animal welfare is a government responsibility.” Together, they want to remind the current federal government to fulfill its national goal of animal welfare and to quickly implement the promises made in the coalition agreement.
"Animal welfare is not an optional commitment that politicians can devote themselves to when it suits them – on the contrary! As a national objective, animal welfare is protected by constitutional law and all state bodies – including the federal government – are obliged to implement this central requirement. It is bitter that, after more than two decades, we have to remind them of this more than ever,“ says Thomas Schröder, President of the German Animal Welfare Federation, demanding: ”The few promises on animal welfare found in the coalition agreement between the CDU, CSU, and SPD must now be implemented. We are counting on a clear commitment to support animal shelters with investments! We also expect that the course will be set for the long-overdue restructuring of agricultural animal husbandry. This requires money and the will to improve the situation for animals. This also applies to the suffering of animals in experiments, which must be ended!"
Since animal welfare was incorporated into the Basic Law as a national objective in 2002, no government has initiated the necessary reforms to do justice to this. Even in the first months of the new government, there has been little sign of animal welfare being given constitutional status. At the same time, Federal Minister of Agriculture Rainer, whose ministry is responsible for animal welfare, has attracted attention primarily for his decisions that disregard animal welfare and his questionable statements: At the opening of a folk festival in Bavaria, the minister recently released doves, and at a lobby meeting at a horse racing track with representatives of horse racing associations and breeding organizations, Rainer publicly spoke out in favor of competitions that are characterized by “deep respect for the horse.”
In addition, the minister is of the opinion that meat consumption has nothing to do with climate issues. For anyone who cares about animal welfare, such words are pure mockery, according to Schröder. “Both horse racing and pigeon racing cause considerable suffering and stress for the animals. When responsible politicians and governments ignore a national objective, they undermine confidence in the binding nature of the constitution and the credibility of politics. What is needed now is concrete political action instead of ignorant provocation!”
World Animal Day dates back to St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals, who was canonized on October 4, 1228. Every year, animal rights activists use this day to draw attention to the suffering of animals caused by humans. The German Animal Welfare Federation chooses a different theme for the day of action each year.
