On the occasion of today's association meeting with Federal Minister of Agriculture Alois Rainer on the “Future of Agricultural Animal Husbandry,” the German Animal Welfare Federation urges the federal government to resolutely pursue the restructuring of agricultural animal husbandry. For years, there has been broad social and professional consensus on the necessity of this restructuring. To simply ignore this would send a disastrous signal – for the animals, for farmers, and for the credibility of politics.
“Anyone who simply disregards the hard-won consensus between agriculture, science, and animal welfare not only squanders trust, but also jeopardizes the future viability of animal husbandry in Germany,” comments Thomas Schröder, President of the German Animal Welfare Federation. “The restructuring of animal husbandry is a social mandate that can only succeed if we work together. To stop or delay it now would be a step backwards – not only for animal welfare, but for agriculture as a whole.”
The need to realign animal husbandry is not only emphasized by animal welfare organizations. Agricultural stakeholders also supported the recommendations of the so-called Borchert Commission, which were subsequently included in the final report of the Future Commission on Agriculture. This broad solidarity between agriculture, science, animal welfare, and society clearly shows that a common path toward more animal-friendly and sustainable animal husbandry has long been in place. As early as 2015, the Scientific Advisory Board for Agricultural Policy presented its expert opinion “Ways to socially acceptable livestock farming,” which contained well-founded proposals on how this restructuring could be implemented in practice.
This makes it all the more disappointing that Federal Minister Rainer is abandoning or blocking key instruments for implementing these recommendations. The planned discontinuation of the federal program for the restructuring of agricultural animal husbandry, the lack of serious efforts to secure sufficient funding in the federal budget, and the rejection of possible financing instruments such as an animal welfare levy or an increase in the VAT rate on animal products send a fatal signal. These decisions are not only a serious setback for animal welfare advocates, but are also meeting with growing incomprehension in the agricultural sector. Many farms had relied on politicians to reliably support the transformation process that had begun. “Politicians are letting down precisely those who were prepared to actively help shape the restructuring,” criticizes Schröder. The German Animal Welfare Federation is appealing to the federal government not to let the Borchert recommendations disappear into a drawer, but to implement them consistently.
