In the coalition agreement, the SPD, Greens and FDP agreed to improve the Animal Welfare Act. Now, topics such as bans on tethering and video recordings in stables are to be voted on.
Federal Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir (Greens) is planning stricter requirements for more animal welfare in agriculture and for domestic animals. A draft for a reform of the animal protection law is currently being coordinated in the government, as a ministry spokeswoman said in Berlin.
Improvements in animal welfare have high priority because there are still many deficits in dealing with animals. Among other things, a general ban on the tethering of cattle, which should be able to move freely, is planned. First, the “Tagesspiegel” reported about it.
According to the ministry, the focus is also on an obligation for video recordings in slaughterhouses and stricter requirements for interventions such as shortening the curly tails of piglets. The slaughter of highly pregnant sheep and goats is also to be banned.
What should change with pets?
In the case of pets, the focus is on being able to better trace the origin of animals and thus, for example, more effectively prevent the illegal puppy trade. Regulations for providers of online platforms are to come, as the spokeswoman explained. Accordingly, the basis for mandatory identification and registration of cats and dogs should also be regulated. It should be forbidden that animals that come from torturous breeding methods are presented at exhibitions. This should reduce the demand for these animals.
The animal protection organization Four Paws rated the reform as a start. But there is still a long way to go before a law that really protects animals. The higher sanctions for animal cruelty provided for in a first draft are to be welcomed. It is incomprehensible, however, that amputations of curly tails should remain possible for economic reasons. Tethering must not only be banned all year round, but also seasonally.
The SPD, Greens and FDP agreed in the coalition agreement to close “existing gaps” in the livestock husbandry ordinance and to improve the animal protection law. Among other things, it should be ended “in ten years at the latest” that animals remain tied up in the barn.
Source: Stern
