Federal Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir wants to extend the five-stage state animal husbandry label to beef and has today presented corresponding key points - although there are no legal husbandry requirements for cattle that could serve as a reference value for the lowest stage. Despite the promise in the coalition agreement, the coalition government has still not managed to close this gap in animal welfare legislation, criticizes the German Animal Welfare Federation. The Animal Welfare Livestock Farming Ordinance only contains requirements for keeping calves, but not for keeping dairy cows and beef cattle.
“How is an animal husbandry label for cattle supposed to stand out from the legal standard or be based on it if it does not exist at all? Products labelled with the term “barn” then come from animals kept in barns for which there are no specific minimum requirements,” criticizes Thomas Schröder, President of the German Animal Welfare Federation. “The labeling for pigs is still under discussion, now it's finally chaos. The BMEL must first adapt the Animal Welfare Farming Ordinance and thus implement the promise from the coalition agreement to close existing gaps in animal welfare legislation. As long as there is no livestock ordinance for cattle, there can be no livestock labeling for cattle. That is a mistake.”
DEFICITS IN ANIMAL HUSBANDRY LABELING
According to the fundamental criticism of the German Animal Welfare Federation, state animal husbandry labeling merely reflects the status quo and does not help animals to achieve better conditions. Instead, consumers would be left to decide how cattle should be kept, for which there are currently no specific legal requirements. “This is unacceptable given that animal welfare is a state objective in the German constitution. Animal welfare needs regulatory law, not misleading purchase incentives on the meat shelf,” said Schröder. Even as long as the fundamental deficits of state animal welfare labeling have not been remedied, it makes no sense to add further animal species. “You're just adding another wagon to a train that's going in the wrong direction. The best thing to do now would be to be honest enough to admit that you have made a mistake and that a new start is needed. Animal husbandry labeling in its current form has no value. It does nothing for the animals, nothing for greater consumer transparency and no planning security for farmers. Rather, it is synonymous with political failure,” said Schröder.
