Policy

30 September 2024

Three questions with Dagmar Klingelhöller on the amendment to the Animal Welfare Act

The German government recently discussed changes to the Animal Welfare Act, with final approval by the German Parliament (Bundestag) still pending. In our “Three Questions…” series, Dagmar Klingelhöller provides her perspective on this amendment as an affected sow farmer. She is the manager of AHG Schweineservice GmbH. Her family raises sows for piglet production at two locations in Northern Germany. Additionally, Dagmar Klingelhöller is the spokesperson for the Schleswig-Holstein Sow Farming Network, a member of the Zentrale Koordination Handel-Landwirtschaft, and an active member of the Expert Circle of REWE Group’s Agricultural Competence Centre (Kompetenzzentrum Landwirtschaft).

Reading time: 4 min.

  • What innovation does the amendment to the Animal Welfare Act, initiated by the German government in May and currently being debated in the German Parliament, provide regarding pig farming?

    First, this law affects not only agricultural operations but also retailers and consumers. The raising of piglets and fattening pigs will become significantly more complex. There is consensus throughout the entire production chain that animal welfare and protection are important and must be continuously and gradually improved.
    The amendment to the Animal Welfare Act proposes a tightening of the ban on tail docking for piglets. In the future, the keeping of pigs with docked tails will only be allowed in a few exceptional cases. This tail docking ban presents major challenges for farms. For reasons not yet sufficiently researched, tail injuries caused by chewing behaviour of pen mates occur in both organic and conventional pig farming. Based on my experience, the use of fibre-rich food, chewing materials, toys, and more space does not lead to satisfactory success, meaning intact animals.

  • What specific challenges does the amendment bring to your farm operations?

    To be honest, we do not know how it can be implemented on a widespread basis, and we cannot conclusively assess the implementation and possible consequences. For several years, we have been raising some piglets with undocked tails. Raising long-tailed piglets involves a great deal of effort such as space, animal control, enrichment, material, fibre-rich food, toys – and only works safely to a limited extent. I can report that there are always groups that bite tails, even though the housing conditions are good. And when the piglets bite, the tails bleed, and that is something we do not want to tolerate for animal welfare and production reasons and is difficult to explain.
    In a European or even international comparison, we have very different laws and production conditions that lead to inequality in the market. If the current law were to be implemented, German piglets would have to become significantly more expensive, which would also affect retailers and, above all, consumers.

  • What is your message to policymakers?

    The amendment to the Animal Welfare Act should only be developed within a European consensus and must then be implemented and controlled across all EU countries.
    It must be prevented that docked piglets and slaughter pigs come into Germany from abroad. These animals would be excluded from German legislation. The same applies, of course, to the import of slaughtered animals. Agriculture is ready to continue working on optimizing measures to reduce tail biting through the Action Plan for Ending Tail Docking. This action plan should also be pursued by the German government and, if necessary, incorporated and further developed in the law.
    If there is consensus between policymakers, agriculture, retailers, and consumers that animals should continue to be kept in Germany, then the policy should not impose one-sided burdens on German agriculture and make animal husbandry nearly impossible.

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About:

Dagmar Klingelhöller

Dagmar Klingelhöller is a farmer and a member of the Expert Circle of REWE Group’s Agricultural Competence Centre.