European election parties in the animal welfare check Your voice for the animals
In the 2024 European elections, MEPs will be elected for the next five years. We have checked the party manifestos for their commitment to animals so that you too can vote for animal welfare.
So viel Tierschutz steckt in den Wahlprogrammen Party check
CDU/CSU: little to none
Grüne: very much
SPD: little
FDP: little to not at all
Linke: very much
ÖDP: very much
Freie Wähler: little
CDU/CSU: no relevant demands
Grüne: Identification & registration of all dogs and cats, positive list for the trade & exotic animal husbandry
SPD: Safeguarding animal welfare
FDP: no relevant demands
Linke: Positive list & import bans adapted to it
ÖDP: Ban live animal trade via the internet and social media, identification & registration of all dogs and cats, positive list for the trade & exotic animal husbandry, ban on torture breeding
Freie Wähler: no relevant demands
CDU/CSU: no relevant demands
Grüne: Ban live animal transports to third countries & max. transport duration of 8 hours
SPD: Ban live animal transports to third countries & max. transport duration of 8 hours
FDP: no relevant demands
Linke: Ban live animal transports to third countries, max. 4 hours transport time & restriction of live animal transports in general
ÖDP: Ban transports of animals for slaughter or breeding to non-EU countries & animal transports over 100 kilometers, abolish EU subsidies for animal transports
Freie Wähler: Ban live animal transports to third countries & give preference to short transport routes
CDU/CSU: Focus on female and male farmers
Grüne: needs-oriented animal husbandry without crates and cages, Europe-wide animal welfare standards, more controls, better fire protection measures, less use of antibiotics, ban on PMSG
SPD: focus on environmental and climate targets
FDP: develop Europe-wide minimum standards for animal welfare
Linke: develop voluntary exit programs for farmers from animal husbandry, ban cage farming & introduce binding criteria and controls
ÖDP: Ban torture breeding, castration without anesthesia & dehorning as well as certain forms of husbandry
Freie Wähler: Help for farmers with an animal welfare aspect
CDU/CSU: no relevant demands
Grüne: introduce better controls and mandatory stunning methods, ban chick killing in the EU & allow slaughter at home
SPD: no relevant demands
FDP: no relevant demands
Linke: introduce independent controls by appropriate personnel & video documentation in slaughterhouses
ÖDP: facilitate on-site slaughter & ban chick shredding throughout the EU immediately
Freie Wähler: enable regional slaughterhouses & pasture slaughter, revise EU standards
CDU/CSU: Limit the number of animals & allow shooting
Grüne:no relevant demands
SPD: no relevant demands
FDP: Reduce protection status & allow shooting when a healthy conservation status is reached
Linke: no relevant demands
ÖDP: no relevant demands
Freie Wähler: allow shooting
CDU/CSU: no relevant demands
Grüne: draw up concrete plans for phasing out animal experiments, minimize or completely abolish animal experiments depending on the area, promote alternative methods more strongly
SPD: no relevant demands
FDP: no relevant demands
Linke: ban animal testing in the EU & promote and give legal preference to alternative methods
ÖDP: Intensively promote animal-free research and teaching methods and set up a European chair for this purpose
Freie Wähler: Only carry out animal experiments if necessary & use more alternative methods
CDU/CSU: no relevant demands
Grüne: Faster and complete implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive & promotion of alternatives to gillnets and trawls
SPD: Develop concrete measures and Europe-wide regulations against overfishing & illegal fishing
FDP: no relevant demands
Linke: Tie fishing subsidies to animal welfare standards, regulate fishing & ban gillnets, trawls and commercial whaling
ÖDP: End overfishing
Freie Wähler: Protect natural predators (including otters and cormorants) and hunt them for the benefit of fishing
Further information on election programs
Large carnivores
- require management and, if necessary, hunting
Animal welfare in general
- Animal welfare commissioner
- EU funding for animal welfare
Pets
- Relieve animal shelters through measures
Agriculture
- See animals as living beings & fulfill their needs in husbandry
- Switch to land-based instead of industrial animal husbandry
- Keeping fewer animals
- Focus on animal health in breeding
- Revision & control of uniform Europe-wide animal welfare standards
Animal testing
- Complete abolition of experiments on animals for cosmetics
- Abolition of experiments on animals for chemical testing & medical products where possible
- Reduction of experiments on animals for drug development & basic research
- Promotion of animal-free education and training initiatives
- Accelerate the development, use and recognition of non-animal methods
- Inclusion of non-animal methods in test guidelines immediately after recognition
Further
- Wildlife: concrete fight against illegal species trade & import ban on hunting trophies from protected animal species
- Trade: high animal welfare standards & abolition of imports of animal products from countries without standards
Animal transports
- Ban on transportation to third countries where compliance with animal welfare legislation cannot be guaranteed
Agriculture
- Improvement of animal welfare
- Europe-wide uniform labeling obligation for animal husbandry systems
- Animal welfare label for all processed and unprocessed animal-based foods
- Strengthen climate protection, climate adaptation & biodiversity
Fisheries
- science-based fishing quotas to allow overfished stocks to recover
- Stricter controls to prevent illegal, undocumented & unregulated fishing
Agriculture
- Europe-wide minimum standards for animal welfare must not overburden small and medium-sized farms
Animal welfare in general
- Animal welfare as an EU Community objective
- Anchoring animal rights in the European constitution
- Europe-wide right of action for environmental and animal welfare associations
Further
- Hunting: Limitation of recreational hunting & ban on hunting predators such as dogs, cats and foxes
Animal welfare in general
- Animal welfare commissioner
- EU Animal Welfare Commission with representatives from each member state with the participation of recognized animal welfare associations
- Europe-wide right of action for recognized animal welfare associations
Agriculture
- Farming methods that lead to avoidable stress, pain and disease should be banned
- Farm animal welfare must be prioritized in the implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)
- Less use of antibiotics
- Subsidies should be tied to simple but effective ecological and social standards
- Abolition of flat-rate area subsidies
Further
- Hunting:
- EU ban on the import of hunting trophies
- Europe-wide ban on hunts and hunting methods that are cruel to animals (e.g. trapping, den hunting, bow hunting)
- Ban on hunting endangered animal species
Agriculture
- should be preserved in Europe
- EU-wide standards must be established
- Common Agricultural Policy (CAP):
- call for its preservation and expansion in order to compensate for existing competitive disadvantages compared to imported products with lower standards
- want to achieve appropriate payment for extensive environmental system services and animal welfare measures
Wolf
- Hunting in defense of pasture farming
Animal testing
- to a minimum
- whenever possible, use cell culture methods instead of animal-based, patient-specific methods
Fisheries
- Strengthen traditional & regional fishing industry by hunting protected predators
Now it's your turn!
Give the animals your vote and vote for a party that stands up for a better life for all animals in the EU. If you would like to find out more, we have compiled further information on the 2024 European elections in Germany here.
