The poultry house of the future

Hanover, November 14, 2018. What should the poultry house of the future look like? How can animal welfare, environmental protection, biosecurity and profitability be reconciled? The International Poultry Conference, to which the ZDG Central Association of the German Poultry Industry e. V. invited together with the DLG (German Agricultural Society) and the European Poultry Club on the occasion of the EuroTier in Hanover. Under the title “Animal Welfare. Environmental Protection. biosecurity. Three goals = one barn?” scientists, practitioners and representatives of animal and environmental protection associations discussed in front of several hundred guests. Conclusion after two hours of committed and quite controversial discussion: There will of course not be a simple solution for the challenges, some of which are in direct conflict of objectives. What was noticeable, however, was the fundamental willingness of the discussion partners to work together towards sustainable and socially acceptable animal husbandry. Under the impression of numerous committed contributions from farmers from the audience, moderator Tanja Busse stated as a “minimal consensus”: “A change in animal husbandry must be financed and must not be carried out on the backs of farmers.”

Isermeyer: "Need convincing target images for all animal species"
Two keynote speeches provided the introduction to the topic. Prof. Dr. In his short presentation, Folkhard Isermeyer from the Thünen Institute in Braunschweig saw the social need to develop convincing target images for all animal species in a "large-scale national project" involving all social groups, in order to "overcome the cacophony" and develop practical long-term perspectives. In his summary, he placed the social view of animal husbandry in Germany in a global context and posed the provocative question: "Does Germany have the courage to continue livestock husbandry by means of a social contract on the path prescribed by the globalized market economy?" If this is not the case is, according to Isermeyer, "then the concrete scope for the topic of animal welfare is rather limited".

“There is no one poultry house of the future”
Bernd Meerpohl, Chairman of the EuroTier Advisory Board, prefaced his keynote speech “Emission-free, digital chicken oases of well-being?” with a view to central conflicting goals that are difficult to resolve: “Three goals = no stable”. For the future of poultry houses, Meerpohl basically saw a wide range of different company sizes and types of husbandry: "There is no such thing as one poultry house of the future." Conservation of resources must always be part of the animal welfare concept, all three must go hand in hand.” Compliance with biosecurity is also becoming an ever greater challenge due to the growing size of farms worldwide and the trend towards free-range husbandry. And when it came to environmental protection, Meerpohl called for a rethink: "Environmental protection must become a product! We have to mentally get away from the regulatory burden.”

At the start of the subsequent discussion, Prof. Dr. Franz J. Conraths, Vice President of the Friedrich Loeffler Institute, Silvia Bender, Head of Biodiversity at BUND, Ina Müller-Arnke from the animal protection organization Vier Pfoten and ZDG President Friedrich-Otto Ripke first presented their central positions in short theses.

  • Silvia Bender called for a reduction in the number of animals in Germany and worldwide ("we need fewer stables") and a return to "rural, species-appropriate animal husbandry" with dual-purpose animals and changed breeding goals.
  • For Ina Müller-Arnke, the focus is on housing the animals in a way that is appropriate to their behavior, “the animals must be able to live out their natural movement behavior”. Animal welfare must come first, not profitability.
  • Friedrich-Otto Ripke called for German livestock owners and marketers who are willing to change to actively secure their future with planning security, cost-covering revenues and social appreciation for their own work.

In the subsequent discussion on the podium and also in the very active exchange with the spectators, it was less about a concrete approach to the actual "barn of the future" and more about (supposed) society's expectations of animal welfare and animal husbandry the concrete design of a state animal welfare label, the international competitiveness of the German poultry industry and again and again the social recognition of the work of farmers and the financial appreciation of food. The lack of an indication of origin in the relevant market segment of out-of-home consumption in restaurants, canteens and canteens was also criticized from several quarters.

Criticism of the lack of labeling of origin in restaurants and canteens
While Ina Müller-Arnke called for "the highest possible criteria" for the state animal welfare label for the entry level and presented this as the wish of a large part of the population, Ripke countered: "Reducing the stocking density too much is not a panacea, but an active call for imports! And that would do animal welfare a disservice.” Silvia Bender criticized what she believed to be too few “animal welfare offers” in food retailing. At the same time, however, she emphasized that farmers must be rewarded for their public services and signaled their willingness to set out together.

In the closing words, ZDG President Ripke emphasized the high degree of willingness to change and innovation within the German poultry industry: "We take our responsibility seriously, but we also need support from politicians, retailers and consumers. Our farmers and marketers have to get their money’s worth, otherwise we have no future.”

About the ZDG#
The Central Association of German Poultry Industry Association represents as a trade roof and top organization, the interests of the German poultry industry at national and EU level towards political, official and professional organizations, the public and abroad. The approximately 8.000 members are organized in federal and state associations.

http://www.zdg-online.de

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