BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – Federal Minister of Agriculture Cem Özdemir (Greens) is planning stricter requirements for more animal welfare in agriculture and for pets. A draft for a reform of the animal protection law is currently being coordinated in the government, as a ministry spokeswoman said on Monday 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. The “Tagesspiegel” (Monday) first reported on 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.
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 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./sam/DP/mis