More than 1500 small slaughterhouses in Bavaria, some of which have to fight for their existence, will be financially relieved. In future, they will only have to pay reduced and uniform fees for official monitoring for each animal slaughtered. The state parliament passed a corresponding new regulation of the so-called meat hygiene fees on Thursday.
The new law will come into effect on July 1st. Before the reduced rates can be applied, however, the EU Commission still has to agree. Due to European legal requirements, fees must be charged for official controls in slaughterhouses. So far, these have been charged based on expenditure. Because of the large number of animals for slaughter, large farms paid less per animal than small farms.
The reorganization of the fees put an end to the competitive disadvantages for small businesses, explained Environment Minister Thorsten Faithr (free voters). “This is an important signal for rural areas.” The cornerstones of a good food supply are: regional, sustainable and animal welfare friendly. “We want to preserve the regional diversity in the slaughterhouse in Bavaria. We rely on short distances instead of long supply chains,” explained Glauber. “Slaughtering close to the farm means less stress for the animals and therefore more animal welfare.”
Agriculture Minister Michaela Kaniber (CSU) emphasized: “95 percent of our Bavarian slaughterhouses will benefit from the new, reduced rates.” In doing so, the state government is also sending a strong signal for livestock farming in Bavaria and is ensuring that the population is supplied with high-quality food over short distances.
In future, farms that only slaughter a few animals should pay fixed amounts per animal, for example seven euros per pig and 14 euros per cattle. For large companies, the cost-covering fees remain. The resulting shortfall in revenue for the municipalities will be compensated for jointly by the environment and agriculture ministries. A total of five million euros per year are initially available for this purpose. Therefore, a state aid notification had to be initiated with the EU.