German farmers' association does not allow animal owners to be divided

Sonnleitner: Solidarity between pig farmers and laying hen farmers

From the point of view of the farmers' association, the pig husbandry ordinance that the federal government has now introduced to the Bundesrat is an affront. It deviates significantly from the compromise on the Animal Welfare Livestock Farming Ordinance (Laying Hens and Pig Farming Ordinance) that was found but not decided last autumn. The Federal Ministry for Consumers, Food and Agriculture is once again trying to go its own national way, including when defining the minimum areas for pigs, the width of the slats and the transitional periods.

The President of the German Farmers' Association (DBV), Gerd Sonnleitner, made it clear at a conference of the poultry industry association in Lower Saxony that the DBV had called on all federal states to reject the federal government's proposal for the pig husbandry ordinance. In the meantime, this draft ordinance has been removed from the urgent procedure intended by the federal government by the majority of the members of the Bundesrat. In addition, the majority of the federal states have taken up the demand of the DBV and have emphasized the harmonization of the provisions in the EU as a priority task in the pig husbandry ordinance.

Competition-neutral regulation wanted

As things stand, after the summer break, the regulations for keeping laying hens (keyword: small aviary) and for keeping pigs will go into final coordination with the federal states at the same time. Sonnleitner made it clear in Cloppenburg that practical and competition-neutral regulations must be found for both pig farmers and laying hen farmers. In the heated animal welfare debate in Germany, with some aggressive animal welfare organizations, this can only happen successfully if all pet owners stand shoulder to shoulder for practical animal welfare regulations.

Nowhere should the impression be given that agriculture is divided on this issue, which is important for Germany as a whole as an agricultural location. The laying hen farmers would not achieve a tolerable solution without the support of the cattle and pig farmers and vice versa there would be no political majorities in the regulations on pig husbandry if all the other livestock farmers did not also support the pig producers. Sonnleitner sharply condemned splinter groups that, in complete misjudgment of political connections, sought their salvation in special ways. The DBV stands for modern and efficient animal husbandry, which at the same time should not give up its social acceptance, but - if necessary - also have to assert itself in hard disputes.

Source: Bonn [dbv]