The German Animal Welfare Federation welcomes today's announcement by ALDI that it will also completely convert chilled meat and sausage products to farming methods 3 and 4 by 2030. “Clearly, retailers are responding to society's desire for more animal welfare. This must be a wake-up call for the German government to set the course now to achieve better animal welfare standards,” said Thomas Schröder, President of the German Animal Welfare Federation.
“Today's signal from ALDI confirms once again: consumers want more animal welfare, retailers recognize this and are taking action. Now it is up to Cem Özdemir and his ministry to finally set the right framework conditions and thus achieve improvements for all animals. The planned animal welfare label does not contribute to this,” said Schröder. Consumers need real and transparent guidance on how they can contribute to greater animal welfare with their purchasing decisions. “Our ‘For more animal welfare’ label shows how it can be done. Unfortunately, the current draft from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture falls miles short of these requirements.”
Schröder appealed to the federal and state governments to make swift progress in this area and thus drive forward the overdue restructuring of animal husbandry. This also includes a clear, reliable strategy on how to proceed with agricultural animal husbandry as a whole. The premise must be: Less consumption and less production of animal-based foodstuffs - and thus a reduction in livestock numbers. The ministry has not yet provided any concrete information on this.
The President of the German Animal Welfare Federation also pointed out that husbandry types 3 and 4 do not automatically mean the highest level of animal welfare. “There are currently many programs that are competing to undercut each other within the levels, with only a few criteria and an inadequate level of control. Retailers need to take a very close look at who gets a 3 or 4 for what if they really want to promote greater animal welfare in the long term.”
