Pathways to a Socially Accepted Livestock Husbandry in Germany: Presentation of the Report of the Scientific Advisory Board on Agricultural Policy at the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture and its Reception

摘要

In recent decades, resource efficiency in the German livestock sector has improved, but considerable shortcomings exist in the areas of animal welfare and environmental protection. Against this background, the Scientific Advisory Board on Agricultural Policy (WBA) of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture is of the opinion that the current husbandry conditions for most livestock will not be viable in the future. Core conclusions regarding animal welfare are: a higher animal welfare level is necessary, it is technically possible, it is costly, but with about 3-5 billion annually it could be affordable, and there is a potential mix of governance measures to achieve a substantially higher animal welfare level. Core recommendations of the WBA are an objectification of the debate, the achievement of a societal base consensus on the future of the livestock sector and the generation of financial flows for funding animal welfare measures: the strong increase of animal welfare premiums as part of the second pillar of the CAP, the introduction and strong marketing of a state animal welfare label and the further development of the Branch Initiative Animal Welfare. These instruments can be very well combined. In the field of environmental protection, the WBA recommends a stricter fertilizer legislation and a lower level of meat consumption in Germany.