Germany has adopted new legislation introducing husbandry labelling for animal products, starting with unprocessed pork. Labelling will be mandatory for domestic products and voluntary for (and open to) imported products. Beef and dairy are likely to be included later.
The new Animal Husbandry Labelling Act introduces a government-owned label categorising animal products based on how the animals have been kept. Labelling is mandatory for domestic produce but voluntary (and open to) imported products.
However, importers, or whoever puts the product on the German market, must apply for permission and prove that the product qualifies for the claimed category if they volunteer to adhere. Foreign farms keeping the animals slaughtered for these products must register with the relevant German authority, provide the necessary evidence and meet internal reporting requirements.
The scope will initially be limited to unprocessed pork, excluding processed products and out-of-home consumption, and focus only on the fattening phase, ignoring piglet-keeping standards. This will be extended to include other types of products, other phases of production, and eventually other products such as beef, dairy, and poultry.
Both the Federal Ministry for Food and Agriculture (BMEL) and German retail plan to run communication campaigns accompanying the introduction of the new label. Stakeholder reactions have been mixed, with industry criticism centred around the label creating additional red tape, ignoring existing private schemes, and without necessarily generating a premium for products with higher standards.
Farmers and processors are warning that domestic production will decrease further. Retailers have reacted more positively, whereas NGOs anticipate a limited impact on animal welfare standards.
Other elements of the German Government's animal farming transformation programme
This labelling initiative represents the first pillar of Germany's broader animal farming transformation plans, which aim to raise animal welfare standards across the sector.
The second pillar is a set of regulatory changes to facilitate the construction or upgrade of barns that meet the labelling scheme's higher categories. To this end, existing barriers to building new or expanded barns have now been softened. Separately, BMEL has proposed a tightening of Germany's Animal Protection Act, which, if adopted, would ban tethered housing (still the norm on many smaller dairy farms), extend anaesthesia requirements for dehorning and castration, and make video surveillance in slaughterhouses mandatory.
Furthermore, the German Government is looking at ways to help fund the sector's transformation to exceed legal minimum standards. An initial €1 billion has been earmarked for up to 2026 to subsidise up to 60 percent of the cost of upgrading pig stalls and higher running costs associated with providing livestock more space and infrastructure maintenance. However, with the backing of science, the sector has been arguing that to maintain competitiveness, absent sufficient premiums for higher animal welfare standards, subsidies will be required for longer and for other subsectors as well. A dedicated meat levy or VAT increase on meat products has been suggested, but the Government has yet to agree on a way forward.
