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Regulation

Germany: Changes in animal welfare law

By February 17, 2021March 10th, 2021No Comments

Document type : Article from the Pig333 website

Preview: The new regulations are primarily aimed at improving the welfare of breeding sows.

In Germany, the seventh and eighth ordinances amending the animal welfare law were published in the Federal Law Gazette (Bundesgesetzblatt). The new regulations came into force on February 9.

Some of the changes are implemented with transition periods to allow pig producers to plan and adapt. The main changes are:

- Prohibited to keep sows in stalls in the farrowing room (8-year transition period).

- More space for sows in the weaning-service period, at least 5 m2 per sow (8-year transition period).

- Sows may be kept in the farrowing crates for a maximum of five days to protect the piglets, instead of the previous 35 days (15-year transition period).

In order to help pig producers in the early stages of transitioning to the new requirements, Federal Minister Julia Klöckner has launched a new investment aid program totaling 300 million euros.

Logo of the Pig333 website
From the Pig333 website