The draft law follows months of negotiations between the coalition parties and regional state governments. The amendment concerns key areas where livestock and other animals are kept, such as online animal trade, domestic and farm pets, and the keeping of wild animals in traveling circuses.
The new law includes stricter rules for animal welfare, including improved living conditions in barns, restrictions on physical interventions without medical necessity, as well as a ban on traditional "tethered" livestock farming for cows and goats. Such a tethering ban will only come into effect in ten years. An exception is made for small mixed farms in the southern German Alps regarding tethering cows in winter barns.
Moreover, non-curative procedures, such as tail docking, must be banned for lambs, and stricter regulations will also apply to piglets. For burning horns of calves, anesthesia will soon be required, and slaughterhouses must monitor work processes with video cameras. It will also be forbidden in the future to trade and slaughter pregnant goats and sheep.
Criticism of the draft law comes from various sides. Agricultural organizations, such as the farmers' association, warn of a financial burden on livestock farmers. They fear that the costs of adapting barns will drive many farmers out of the market, especially since announced subsidies are insufficient to cover the new investments.
On the other hand, nature conservation and animal welfare organizations consider the proposed reforms insufficient. In particular, criticism is aimed at the long transition periods and the fact that mixed farming (outdoor and indoor housing) is not fully prohibited. This is seen as a compromise that does not adequately account for animal welfare.
Disagreement also exists within the governing coalition of SPD, Greens, and FDP regarding the proposal from the two Green ministers for Agriculture and Animal Welfare. Some SPD politicians want stricter rules. However, the FDP believes the draft sends the wrong signal to agriculture and advocates for easing regulations to reduce the bureaucratic burden on farmers.