The German Animal Welfare Federation is disappointed with the draft bill for a new Animal Welfare Act. The promises made in the coalition agreement have largely not been implemented. More animal protection is only planned for a few areas - and even then only inadequately, criticizes the federation. Furthermore, the draft has not even been unified within the federal government.
"A lot has been promised, but little has been delivered. In the coalition agreement, the coalition government agreed to close gaps in animal welfare legislation. However, it appears that the FDP has intervened to the detriment of animals and Cem Özdemir was unable to get his way in the cabinet. The minimal improvements are no cause for celebration. The Federal Ministry and the coalition parties must urgently improve the draft in order to implement the improvements in animal protection promised in the coalition agreement. If the Animal Welfare Act were passed as it stands, it would essentially remain a law geared towards the use of animals by humans - incompatible with the national objective of animal welfare," comments Thomas Schröder, President of the German Animal Welfare Federation.
GAPS IN ANIMAL PROTECTION LAW REMAIN
Many animal welfare demands, such as a nationwide castration obligation for outdoor cats, a certificate of competence before the acquisition of pets or a ban on live animal transports to countries outside Europe, are not taken into account in the draft law. The ban on the tethering of cattle in violation of animal welfare as promised in the coalition agreement is not implemented: Seasonal tethering, where animals can remain tethered for the majority of the year, remains possible in principle. For animals that have to suffer in animal experiments, there is only one tiny step in the right direction - for cephalopods and decapod crustaceans. All fundamental shortcomings, such as the plausibility check for the approval of animal experiments, have not been rectified. Gaps in the current Animal Welfare Act, which for example allow painful amputations on animals as exceptions, remain: Tail docking in pigs and beak trimming in laying hens and turkeys are not banned in the draft, lambs and kids may continue to be castrated without anaesthetic and an exception to the docking ban is to continue to apply to dogs used for hunting. In the view of the German Animal Welfare Federation, it is also unacceptable that the welcome video surveillance in slaughterhouses is not to apply to small businesses - even though experience has shown that this is where most abuses occur.
AUTHORIZATION BASES INSTEAD OF LEGAL REQUIREMENTS
Some points are not regulated in the draft law, but are instead transferred to authorizations. For dogs and cats, identification and registration is not mandatory, but only included as an option within the framework of an enabling basis. The German Animal Welfare Federation welcomes the fact that, for the first time, there are mandatory requirements for the national online trade in animals, even if these are still inadequate. Instead of placing greater restrictions on online trade directly via the Animal Welfare Act, the draft also provides for an authorization to issue an ordinance. "Instead of showing a clear edge here and now, many things are being postponed until later and could easily be overturned by the next federal government," criticizes Schröder. The German Animal Welfare Federation takes a positive view of the extension and specification of the "torture breeding paragraph" as well as the plan that at least certain wild animals should no longer be exhibited in circuses in future.
Note to editors: With the "More animal protection now!" campaign, the German Animal Welfare Federation is reminding the current federal government of the promises it made in the coalition agreement: www.jetzt-mehr-tierschutz.de
