Animal welfare initiative: this is how it will continue in concrete terms

The Animal Welfare Initiative (ITW) will continue its activities after the end of the current program period and announce how things will continue for the participating pet owners from January 2024. The most important changes relate to financing, the test system and the duration of participation. The husbandry criteria also change during broiler fattening. Animal keepers receive complete information from their coordinators and in the download area of ​​the ITW website. Overall, the new regulations also offer the greatest possible planning security for the many committed pet owners in the ITW.

Poultry: Slaughterhouse pays farmers and additional requirements for broiler farmers
Chicken and turkey farmers expect changes in the financing system in the new program from 2024. From April 1, 2024, non-binding price surcharges will apply to chicken and turkey farmers. The amount of the non-binding price surcharges is based on a recommendation by the ITW committees. From April 1, 2024, the following recommendations apply:

• 2,75 cents per kilogram live weight for chickens
• 3,25 cents per kilogram live weight for turkey hens
• 4,0 cents per kilogram live weight for turkey cocks

The ITW recommends all participating farmers to reach agreements with customers in good time, in which the corresponding surcharge for the implementation of animal welfare requirements is recorded. This is the only way to fix the price surcharge for the individual farmer.
The husbandry criteria for turkey and Peking duck fattening will initially remain unchanged for 2024. In broiler fattening, the new program has additional requirements for activity material and the handling of diagnostic data as well as the implementation of a twilight phase.

Pig: Fixed bonus for piglets remains - identification is encouraged more
In the future, the ITW will also have a recommendation for the amount of the price surcharge for pig farmers, which the committees in the ITW have calculated at €5,28. Therefore, the ITW recommends all pig farmers to make agreements with their customers in good time, in which the corresponding animal welfare surcharge is recorded. This is also the only way that the price surcharge will be fixed for the individual pig farmer. Exceptions to this are the piglet producers, who continue to receive a fixed animal welfare payment from the so-called piglet fund. In addition, in the new program from 2024, the identification of pork is to be promoted more strongly. For this reason, a bonus system for the marketing of the same piglets will be introduced from July 1st. From July 2024, piglet rearers who deliver to ITW fatteners will receive a higher animal welfare payment of 4 euros per piglet. Piglet producers who have been taking part in the ITW since the start of the third phase of the program – so-called stock piglet rearers – will continue to receive payment for all piglets reared. The fee per piglet delivered to a fattener who does not take part in the ITW is 3 euros per animal, but lower than for deliveries to ITW fatteners.

The animal welfare criteria for keeping pigs will remain unchanged for pig farmers in the coming year. With a view to the state animal husbandry labeling and possible changes in the animal welfare livestock ordinance, there are likely to be further changes in the requirements for poultry and pig farmers by 2025.

Innovations in the test system and participation period
The new program also entails changes in the testing system. The annual program audits and an unannounced inventory check will replace the confirmation audits that were previously necessary. These changes are accompanied by a change in the participation periods for pet owners: After the start of the new program, there is no longer a time limit on the participation period. Participation is automatically renewed provided that participation is not canceled and all audits are passed.

About the Initiative animal welfare
With the Animal Welfare Initiative (ITW), which was launched in 2015, the partners from agriculture, the meat industry, the food trade and gastronomy are committed to their shared responsibility for animal husbandry, animal health and animal welfare in livestock farming. The animal welfare initiative supports farmers in implementing measures for the welfare of their livestock that go beyond the legal standards. The implementation of these measures is controlled across the board by the animal welfare initiative. The product seal of the Animal Welfare Initiative only identifies products that come from animals from participating farms of the Animal Welfare Initiative. The Animal Welfare Initiative is gradually establishing more animal welfare on a broad scale and is continuously being further developed: www.initiative-tierwohl.de