Parliamentary State Secretary Silvia Breher at the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMLEH) today announced her plans and goals as the new Federal Animal Welfare Commissioner in a press statement. Thomas Schröder, President of the German Animal Welfare Federation, commented:
"Expectations for the new Federal Animal Welfare Commissioner are high. The gap left by her predecessor, Ariane Kari, is large – and now needs to be filled. This raises the question of how a member of the Bundestag and, at the same time, Parliamentary State Secretary can act as an independent animal welfare commissioner. Silvia Breher must now quickly prove that she has truly internalized all animal welfare issues and will act in accordance with the state goal of animal welfare and in the interests of animals. We expect her to make decisive progress in animal welfare in the coming years.
To this end, we are counting on the willingness of the new Federal Animal Welfare Commissioner to approach us animal welfare associations openly. We ourselves are ready for talks, sooner rather than later. Because the challenges are pressing. It is not only about conditions in agricultural animal husbandry that violate animal welfare, but also about ending animal testing, better rules for domestic and wild animals, and more. Particularly when it comes to helping animal shelters, we can no longer afford to play for time. The implementation of the animal welfare policy proposals in the coalition agreement, including a revision of the Animal Welfare Act, should therefore be at the top of the new Federal Animal Welfare Commissioner's agenda.
