The Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs (BMLEH) announced a comprehensive reorganization today, which will take effect on March 1. Thomas Schröder, President of the German Animal Welfare Federation, commented:
"Federal Minister Alois Rainer should see animal welfare as a central task of his ministry and give it a prominent place accordingly. Unfortunately, the animal welfare perspective is completely missing from the restructuring of the ministry. Rainer is thus once again missing a key opportunity to consider animal welfare and send a clear political signal. Instead of strengthening animal welfare as an integral part of sustainable agriculture, Rainer is focusing on an export strategy and increasing competitiveness, which could be at the expense of animals. This also contradicts the unanimous decisions of the Future Commission on Agriculture that the future must involve less consumption accompanied by less production of animal-based foods."
