On the initiative of the CDU/CSU and SPD, the Budget Committee has approved one billion euros for the renovation of municipal sports facilities. Animal shelters in Germany, which the CDU/CSU and SPD want to support with investments according to their coalition agreement, have not been included in the budget plans so far. Thomas Schröder, President of the German Animal Welfare Federation, comments:
"The CDU/CSU and SPD's celebration of the ‘sports billion’ is a slap in the face for animal shelters in the country. It seems cynical that sports facilities are now to receive millions for new showers, artificial turf, and indoor flooring without any red tape, while the federal government has been neglecting animal shelters with their renovation backlog for years. Time and again, reference has been and continues to be made to the alleged lack of federal responsibility – a lame excuse to shirk responsibility on the cheap. The coalition promised financial support for animal shelters in its own coalition agreement – this promise must not be broken. Anyone who can mobilize billions for sport can also provide a billion for animal shelters. Animal welfare is even enshrined in the Basic Law as a state objective, whereas sport is not. It is high time that the federal government fulfilled its constitutional mandate instead of continuing to ignore the plight of animal shelters."
