Focus on Animal Welfare Policy: Exchange with Federal Animal Welfare Officer Silvia Breher in Berlin

How can animal welfare in Germany and across Europe be strengthened? What is the position of the new Federal Animal Welfare Commissioner on the export of live animals to third countries? On Wednesday, 15 October, our project manager Franziska Burkhardt travelled to Berlin at the invitation of Federal Animal Welfare Commissioner Silvia Breher to discuss these and other pressing issues during an introductory meeting.

Representatives from 18 animal welfare organisations and associations participated, with the aim of fostering mutual exchange and discussing future priorities for national animal welfare policy.

The meeting focused on current issues such as the implementation of the EU animal welfare strategy, the improvement of husbandry conditions for farmed animals, and the regulation of animal transport to third countries – a longstanding challenge in European animal welfare to which we have continuously contributed our expertise. 

Breher opposes Germany pursuing a national approach

At the meeting, Silvia Breher argued against Germany pursuing a national approach alone regarding third country exports, advocating instead for a unified EU-wide solution. We believe, however, that negotiating bilateral agreements remains important to exert targeted pressure on countries with inadequate animal welfare standards and to achieve meaningful improvements.

Breher also highlighted the importance of close cooperation between the federal government, the states, and consumers to implement national and European animal welfare objectives effectively. She emphasised her commitment to strengthening the social anchoring of animal welfare and sees the involvement of professional associations in future legislative initiatives as central to her work.

Our project manager, Franziska Burkhardt, underlined the importance of politicians seeing animal welfare organisations as cooperation partners and involving them in political decision-making – a point welcomed by both Breher and the other participants. “We work internationally and see that in other countries, animal welfare is an integral part of politics,” Burkhardt stated.

We welcome the open dialogue with Ms Breher and her willingness to cooperate, which provides a solid foundation for constructive collaboration in promoting effective animal welfare in Germany. At the same time, we will continue to campaign vigorously for Germany to strengthen regulation of animal transport to third countries, even if the EU does not adopt similar measures.