Germany: Changes in animal welfare law

In Germany, the seventh and eighth ordinances amending the animal welfare law were published in the Federal Law Gazette (Bundesgesetzblatt). The new regulations came into force on February 9.

Some of the changes are implemented with transition periods to allow pig producers to plan and adapt. The main changes are:

• Prohibited to keep sows in stalls in the mating area (8-year transition period).
• More space for sows in the weaning-service period, at least 5 m² per sow (8-year transition period).
• Farrowing crates will be permitted for a maximum of 5 days to protect the piglets, instead of the previous 35 days. The farrowing crates must be at least 6.5 square meters in size (15-year transition period).

In order to help pig producers in the early stages of transitioning to the new requirements, Federal Minister Julia Klöckner has launched a new investment aid program totaling 300 million euros.