Every four years, the Federal Government takes stock of animal welfare and thus fulfills an obligation under the Animal Welfare Act. Thomas Schröder, President of the German Animal Welfare Federation, comments on the 14th Animal Welfare Report presented today by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL):
"Today we would have liked to take stock of two years of animal welfare policy by the Federal Government. But as there has been no animal welfare policy to date, we cannot take stock of it.
After two years in government, announcing legislative initiatives to talk up your own policy is weak!
Not a single promise as formulated in the coalition agreement, with the exception of the appointment of a Federal Animal Welfare Commissioner, has been implemented to date. No animal in a stable, no animal in an experimental laboratory, no wild or domestic animal is protected by animal protection law. A total failure!
The animal welfare label praised in the report as a step towards greater animal welfare is a disappointment and a breach of the promises made in the coalition agreement. Not a single animal will be kept in a better environment with this label. Even worse: husbandry systems that violate animal welfare are given a state label with the levels "stable" and "stable+place" and thus permanently legitimized. Instead of continuing to tinker with this, there should be a new start. Instead of a system label, we need an animal welfare label that really serves the individual animal. A ban on tethering has also not yet been enforced; instead, so-called combined husbandry is being maintained.
We are now halfway through the legislative period. There is still time. But we must now move forward quickly and clearly. The country wants and the animals need more animal welfare - and the gaps in animal welfare legislation are massive."
Note to editors:
With the current campaign "More animal welfare now!", the German Animal Welfare Federation provides information on which announcements from the coalition agreement have already been addressed and where there are only empty promises so far: www.jetzt-mehr-tierschutz.de
