The German Animal Welfare Federation welcomes the launch of the federal programme “Umbau Tierhaltung” and is pleased that the animal welfare label “Für Mehr Tierschutz” has been recognized for funding. This means that pig farms participating in the animal welfare label program can now apply for a subsidy from the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE) to cover ongoing operating costs.
“At a time when the legal framework still legitimizes the torture of pigs, when highly intelligent animals are kept crammed together in narrow pens on fully slatted floors and even tail docking is tolerated, we see the federal program ‘Umbau der Tierhaltung’ as an important first step towards a fundamental system change,” says Thomas Schröder, President of the German Animal Welfare Federation. "Our animal welfare label ‘Für Mehr Tierschutz’ with its two levels shows a practicable way forward. It is one of the few genuine animal welfare labels on the market with high criteria and unannounced inspections several times a year."
The BLE's federal program “Umbau Tierhaltung” supports farms in the necessary transformation of agriculture and grants subsidies for inevitably higher costs incurred in more animal-friendly animal husbandry. In the view of the German Animal Welfare Federation, however, the funding provided under the federal program is only one piece of the mosaic in the transformation of agriculture. The federal government must present a comprehensive strategy for the transformation of animal husbandry, which is promoted and controlled by the state. An increase in VAT on meat and other animal products that does not discriminate against animal-friendly production must generate additional funds for this. Another key issue for the German Animal Welfare Federation is the current revision of the Animal Welfare Act and the Animal Welfare Livestock Farming Ordinance, where massive legal loopholes in relation to agricultural animal husbandry need to be closed.
