Animal Welfare – International Issue

Animal welfare issues should be discussed and conducted on an international level.

Speaking at the opening of the EuroTier exhibition in Hanover this week, Dr Reinhard Grandke, CEO of the German agricultural association DLG said: “At present, this topic is not relevant to gaining a competitive export advantage.

“Whether new markets will develop as a consequence of new animal husbandry systems remains an open question.

“Rather, the fear is that animal welfare criteria will be interpreted differently, which could lead to a loss of competitiveness in one country and to its livestock farming sector moving to other countries with less stringent regulations.”

DLG said that livestock farmers’ need for information remains as high as ever – including breeding advances, feeding, keeping and management regimes, logistics and animal health and welfare.

Dr Grandke added that “faced with more stringent legal, economic and social conditions, farmers must, more than ever before, carry out intelligent and long-term investment planning.

“It is precisely when the social and market environment is difficult that a company's potential needs to be exploited by investing efficiently and acting intelligently.

“Robust information, not solely concerned with economic and technical aspects, is vital here.

“The debate around modern animal husbandry practices has, for a long time, thrown up fundamental questions about its acceptability to local society.

“Agri-businesses need to face these challenges with professionalism and also to take account of economic and technical production aspects.”

The exhibition that has attracted 2,360 exhibitors from 49 countries with 1,147 coming from outside of Germany runs in Hanover until the end of the week.