As of 2011, no meat from neutered boars

After McDonald’s declared that the company no longer wants to process meat from castrated pigs from 2011, Burger King is now also following this line. Since last year, the German Animal Welfare Association has been intensively drawing attention to the anesthetized castration of piglets with the "Piglet Protest" campaign. The association has just tightened its campaign with an attack on the fast food chains Burger King and McDonald's. By 2011 at the latest, both companies want to end the piglet torture for their products.

"This is a step forward for animal welfare, which Burger King is now taking. The pressure on all other suppliers of pork products is increasing every day. We call on all suppliers not to hesitate any longer and to give clear deadlines. They can be earlier than 2011, there are alternatives, "said Wolfgang Apel, President of the German Animal Welfare Association, welcoming Burger King's current decision.

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Business, research, politics and animal rights activists are looking for new ways together

The German Farmers' Association strives for a complete renunciation of piglet castration. "Until this waiver is possible, we - in the interests of animal welfare - rely on pain relievers and not on anesthesia," explained the Secretary General of the German Farmers' Association (DBV), Dr. Helmut Born, in an interview with the political magazine Kontraste before the program was broadcast on July 30, 2009. The DBV also calls on the fast-food chains to take this German route in the market, which has been shared since last year by the Association of the Meat Industry (VDF) and the main association of the German retail trade (HDE) and the DBV is fully supported. The aim must be to find solutions as quickly as possible in the interests of the consumer in flawless pork and animal welfare.

Almost all male piglets worldwide have been castrated for centuries to prevent the unpleasant boar odor from developing during the preparation of pork. Animal welfare organizations are exerting massive pressure on politicians and food retailers to ban castration without anesthesia in Germany and Europe. Since April 01st, 2009, in the transition phase to the complete renouncement of castration, all piglets within the QS scheme may only be castrated with painkillers, as there is no practical alternative.

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In the German-Dutch border region, animal diseases and zoonoses, i.e. infectious diseases that can be transmitted from animal to person and from person to animal, are now to be systematically fought across borders. In the next four and a half years, the project partners GIQS (Cross-Border Integrated Quality Assurance eV) and 35 organizations from science, business and authorities will develop measures and concepts in the "SafeGuard" project to ensure food safety and quality, including animal health, for one of the most populous and cattle-dense regions To further improve Europe. On the German side, the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony as well as the Netherlands and the European Union are funding the project with a total of 9,35 million euros from the INTERREG program Germany-Netherlands. The EU participates with 50 percent and North Rhine-Westphalia with around 600.000 euros.

As part of “SafeGuard”, preventive, control and monitoring measures as well as crisis management on both sides of the border are to be further improved and the available resources are to be networked even better. The measures include, in particular, the development of internet-based solutions for cross-company and cross-agency data exchange, the analysis of the combinability of state and private-sector controls, the development and testing of new training concepts for farmers and farm veterinarians, and the analysis of transport flows within the program area on the basis of geographical information -Systems, the development of early warning systems for animal diseases (e.g. swine fever, etc.) and zoonoses (e.g. salmonella and antibiotic-resistant pathogens) or the establishment of German-Dutch training programs to qualify veterinarians for cross-border exchange.

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No meat in the trade - dead animal was professionally disposed of

After a check by the Friedrich-Löffler-Institut (FLI), the first BSE case was confirmed in a cattle kept in Hamburg this week. The more than ten-year-old dairy cow had died last week without showing any signs of BSE and was then checked. The responsible authorities have reacted accordingly, identified two endangered cattle in the herd concerned and taken all necessary measures.

In the event of a BSE case, all endangered animals are immediately identified as a protective measure. This includes the offspring that were born within two years before the disease was diagnosed and animals that were born twelve months before or after the dead cattle and were raised with them in the first year of life. During the two-year period described, the animal in question had one offspring. This young animal and a cow reared with the dead cattle are currently kept in the herd and officially controlled. The animals must not enter the food or feed chain, for example through slaughter. This was ordered by the competent authority vis-à-vis the animal owner.

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In conventional turkey farming in Germany, antibiotics are still used on a regular basis. According to information from NDR Info, in some stalls, including in Lower Saxony, whole turkey stocks are treated with antibiotics during the entire fattening period. This is proven by the corresponding documents that are available to NDR Info.

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Trade should reward the German way

The Presidium of the German Farmers' Association (DBV) has issued a declaration for a common approach to piglet castration. In it, it calls on the food retail companies to support and reward the German way. The Declaration of the Presidium is listed below:

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DBV organizes a specialist forum on animal feeding at Green Week

Experts will discuss important issues relating to the supply of farm animals with feed in the specialist forum “Looking ahead - Perspectives in animal feeding”. This specialist forum is being organized by the German Farmers' Association (DBV) on January 21, 2009, 10.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. at the International Green Week in Berlin.

Agricultural raw materials are caught between the potential for recycling as food for humans and animals and as a source of energy. Extreme price fluctuations in 2008 also show how dependent the refinement is on developments in the financial markets and on the EU approval policy for genetically modified feed. There is great concern in the sector that there may be no longer a supply of proteins in the coming year due to the zero tolerance for GMO soy and maize varieties that are not approved in the EU. Alternative protein sources within Europe do not meet the demand by a long way. Experts from the FAO, the Netherlands and the German feed industry will present interesting developments at the specialist forum. In the final panel discussion, common solutions will be discussed in detail. Controversial issues relating to the political framework for animal meal and fats will not be left out.

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Panel discussion within the framework of the specialist congress "Fuels of the Future"

Up until a year ago, the production of renewable raw materials in agriculture was still considered an effective means of protecting the climate and ensuring security of supply for energy and fuels. On the other hand, one must get the impression today that biofuels are to blame for hunger in the world. These are all extreme positions without a realistic background. This was emphasized by the Secretary General of the German Farmers' Association (DBV), Dr. Helmut Born, as part of a panel discussion at the 6th International Congress for Biofuels in Berlin. According to his statement, it is possible for “plate and tank” to coexist. In Europe, for example, just 2,5 percent of the grain harvest would be processed into bioethanol.

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Early, consumer-friendly implementation of painless piglet castration

Migros, together with its meat processing company Micarna SA, uses the inhalation method for piglet castration, castration under anesthesia and pain relief. The implementation will take place as early as July 1, 2009. The main reason for this attitude: the method enjoys the greatest acceptance among consumers.

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10 years of the German Veal Control Association

Consumers can rest assured that German veal is a safe and high-quality product on their table. With these words, State Secretary Gert Lindemann paid tribute to the work of the German Veal Control Association (KDK) on the occasion of its 10th anniversary. In response to various food scandals, the Federal Association of Calf Fatteners founded the KDK in 1998 with a number of slaughterhouses and meat cutting plants. With a sophisticated and comprehensive control program for illegal substances, we have succeeded in putting the veal industry back in a positive light. The product veal is now a premium product for quality-oriented consumers.

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Smaller units than in Denmark and the Netherlands

The structural change in German pig farming continues. According to the Federal Statistical Office, there were still around 80.000 pig farms last year.

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