Document type : Article published on the website Euractiv
Author: Magdalena Pistorius
Preview: Germany is considering ways to fund an increased ambition in animal welfare standards, including a new levy on animal welfare, but the idea has raised eyebrows among German farmers, who are concerned they will be exposed to unfair competition. EURACTIV Germany reports.
"Our society wants more animal welfare. Our farmers want more animal welfare. But more animal welfare in the stables and on the fields is not for free!" Germany's agriculture minister, Julia Klöckner, said recently after the presentation of a study on the animal welfare-friendly conversion of livestock farming.
With these words, Klöckner defended the possible restructuring of livestock farming in Germany, highlighting that "economic efficiency must go hand in hand with greater animal welfare".
Improved animal welfare is a key EU priority, featuring both as one of the CAP reform's nine specific objectives as well as in the Commission's flagship food policy, the Farm to Fork (F2F) strategy, which includes raising animal welfare as part of its aims to "deliver a healthier and more sustainable EU food system".
Germany has been particularly vocal on the issue, with Klöckner spearheading the issue at the EU level.
This led to an agreement between the 27 agriculture ministers on an EU-wide animal welfare label in December, at the end of Germany's EU Council presidency, and the minister called it "a big step forward".
