Incredible Grievances in Animal Husbandry in Germany

Affected are stalls carrying the «Haltungsform» labelling categories 3 and 4 as well as various «animal welfare» labels across six federal states – including suppliers for the supermarket chains REWE and EDEKA.

ARIWA has filed criminal charges against 12 of the filmed operations for violations of the Animal Protection Act.DER SPIEGEL published a detailed report on some of the operations yesterday.

"This is one of the most extensive exposés ever to come to light from German animal husbandry," says Anna Schubert, agricultural policy officer atAnimal Rights Watch. "And what we see in the images is barely tolerable."

Sophie-Madlin Langner, veterinarian at the organisation Expertise for Animals, provides expert context for the footage: «The evidence collected over more than six months shows pigs lying injured and untreated on the ground, violent driving with blows, and filthy stalls where animals stand in their excrement up to several centimetres deep. Straw is often barely present or absent entirely. Animals live in cramped pens with concrete runs – far removed from the idyllic notion of green meadows. From a veterinary perspective, these are clear indicators of inadequate care, absence of pain treatment, and ongoing suffering.»

«This investigation shows: these are not isolated cases,» says Anna Schubert. «A system that promises better animal husbandry cannot function. Behind every so-called animal welfare label lies a deception of consumers. The idea of happy straw pigs is an illusion. We must therefore initiate the transition away from the animal industry now!»

The think tank Faba Konzepte is publishing a position paper on the occasion of the footage, entitled «Alternatives to Animal Husbandry Instead of Meat Fetishism». Friederike Schmitz from Faba Konzepte says: «The new federal government plans to cement the current system of animal husbandry, along with its fatal problems, for decades to come. To make the food system fit for the future, we must instead support farms in transitioning to alternatives to animal husbandry. We need to advance plant-based nutrition. We therefore call for a new edition of the Chancenprogramm Höfe and an action plan for plant-based nutrition as in Denmark.»

In 12 of the 21 farms, violations of statutory minimum standards were documented in addition to misleading animal welfare promises. Anna Schubert of ARIWA: «We have filed criminal charges against these farms. We also call on REWE and EDEKA to immediately terminate their business relationships with the farms in question.»

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