The German Federal Government has made a decision on the amendment to the Animal Welfare Act submitted by the Federal Minister for Food and Agriculture, Julia Klöckner.
The aim of the bill is to prevent animal welfare violations in pig and cattle production by means of more targeted controls. To this end, not only livestock farms but also animal by-product processing plants (known as VTNs) will be inspected in the future. Studies show that findings related to welfare can be observed in animal carcasses in VTNs, e.g. broken limbs, wounds, or emaciation, indicating problems on the livestock farms of origin. Therefore, additional controls at VTNs can provide information to identify and follow up on farms where animal welfare violations may be occurring.
Specifically, the following is planned:
a. VTN operators are obliged to allow animal welfare checks and support the responsible authorities with these checks.
b. In addition, livestock owners are obliged to mark carcasses in order to trace them back to their farms.
March 10, 2021/ BMEL/ Germany.
https://www.bmel.de/