Federal Election 2025: What the parties say about animal welfare

On the website www.tierschutzwandel-jetzt.de the federation has compiled information on the role that animal welfare plays in the programmes.

This party check is supplemented by further information on the election and the most pressing demands in the field of animal welfare. The animal welfare advocates make clear that the next government must act in order to usher in the socially desired shift in animal welfare policy and to live up to animal welfare as a constitutional objective.

Animal welfare as a constitutional objective in the Basic Law

"Animal welfare is enshrined as a constitutional objective in the German Basic Law, and many people are preoccupied with the question of how we as a society treat the animals in this country. Even if it is just one of many pressing issues, we hope that many voters will keep animal welfare in mind," says Thomas Schröder, President of the German Animal Welfare Federation. "Every vote for a democratic party that wishes to stand up for animals helps to strengthen and advance animal welfare politically – provided the party also clears the five-percent threshold," said Schröder. The federation itself is politically neutral and is not permitted to issue voting recommendations. It does, however, recommend that eligible voters use the party programmes to inform themselves about animal welfare policy plans. Electoral promises often end in political compromises. Nevertheless, they provide insight into whether a party considers animal welfare relevant or not.

Only two parties cover all areas of animal welfare

Only two parties – Bündnis 90/Die Grünen and the Partei Mensch Umwelt Tierschutz (Animal Protection Party) – address all animal welfare areas defined as important by the German Animal Welfare Federation in their electoral manifestos. While many animal welfare pledges can also be found in the programmes of Die Linke, ÖDP and Volt, the electoral manifestos of CDU/CSU, SPD, FDP, BSW and the Freie Wähler cover only a few areas relevant to animal welfare.

The relevance of animal welfare policy issues for Germans was highlighted in 2023 by a Eurobarometer survey conducted by the European Commission: regarding the keeping of animals in agriculture, 90 percent of Germans demand greater animal welfare. 92 percent oppose mutilations such as tail docking of animals, and 94 percent want animals to have more freedom of movement in their enclosures. The animal welfare-related problems are also omnipresent when it comes to wild animals in circuses, exotic pets, stray cats, illegal puppy trading and animal testing. And animal shelters across the country also need support to prevent practical animal welfare from collapsing entirely. More on Animal Rights.