The German Animal Welfare Federation is very concerned about the draft budget for 2026 and the medium-term financial planning up to 2029, which was approved by the cabinet today. The federal government clearly does not want to provide sufficient funding for animal welfare.
"With its draft, the federal government is clearly once again failing to set the course for a restructuring of animal husbandry and to secure the long-term funding that is urgently needed for this. Without reliable funding, however, the urgently needed restructuring of livestock farming will not succeed. Although Federal Minister Rainer once promised 1.5 billion euros a year for the conversion of livestock housing in order to overcome the major challenges in agriculture, only a portion of this has been budgeted for the coming years. This is a fatal signal to farmers, who are dependent on planning security. There are also no funds for animal shelters, which are working at the limit of their capacity in many places, in the draft budget, although the coalition agreement explicitly promised to relieve the burden on animal shelters," criticizes Thomas Schröder, President of the German Animal Welfare Federation. "Animal welfare must not be a cost-cutting item. We are calling on the Bundestag and in particular the members of the Budget Committee to make adjustments in the further procedure." According to the German Animal Welfare Federation, it is also irritating that the office of the Federal Animal Welfare Commissioner is not included in the budget for 2026.
