Status: 03/25/2023 2:49 p.m
For the sake of animal welfare, the federal government wants to stipulate that turkeys in German fattening farms are given more space in the barn. Breeders are up in arms: they fear that domestic turkey meat will become too expensive.
By Fabian Siegel, SWR
Marcus Könninger, a farmer from Rot am See near Würzburg in Baden-Württemberg, fears for his existence. “Many farms are on the brink of collapse,” he complains. “Functioning family businesses would become unprofitable overnight.” His colleague Thomas Palm from Schrozberg, a few kilometers away, agrees. “An entire industry is in danger,” he says.
Könninger and Palm are turkey breeders. The reason for their anger: a new key issues paper from the home of the Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture, Cem Özdemir. The Green politician wants to introduce minimum requirements for turkey fattening in Germany.
Ministry wants fewer turkeys in the stables
The most important points: turkey breeders should have to prove their expertise, the supply of the animals with feed and water or the stable climate should be regulated, standards for minimum controls should be set. Farmers go that far with them. They are much more critical of the fact that the so-called stocking density in the stables should be drastically reduced.
The stocking density regulates – to put it simply – how many turkey hens or roosters may be kept in one barn. It is measured in kilograms of turkeys per square meter of stable – at the time when the animals are fully grown. The fewer turkeys in a barn, the less likely the animals will injure or cannibalize each other by feather pecking, the ministry argues.
In short: it is about more animal welfare. The key issues paper therefore stipulates that in future limit values of 35 kilograms per square meter for hens and 40 kilograms for cocks will apply.
Poultry association speaks of “dream dancing”
Wolfgang Schleicher, Managing Director of the Central Association of the Poultry Industry (ZDG), describes the plans as “reality-denying dream dancing”. The association has been emphasizing this almost like a mantra since the key issues paper was published at the end of December.
The voluntary obligations already stipulate that the stocking density in a German barn may not exceed 52 kilograms per square meter for hens and 58 kilograms for cocks.
In addition, there are guidelines from the Animal Welfare Initiative (ITW) that go even further: 48 kilograms for hens and 53 kilograms for cocks. According to the initiative, the majority of turkey breeders in Germany now even produce according to these even stricter standards.
In other EU countries there are much more lax rules or no rules at all. In France or Italy, up to 70 kilograms of turkey per square meter are sometimes produced, explains the industry association ZDG.
Does the cheap meat come from EU neighbors?
“We are already producing according to very high standards,” says farmer Palm from Schrozberg in an interview tagesschau.de. Consumers accept that because they get better meat quality in return. German turkey breeders still produce 76 percent of the turkey meat that is served in Germany themselves. “If the ministry tightens the production criteria again, this value will fall drastically,” warns Palm.
But now the limit values are to be reduced by around a quarter compared to the previously applicable voluntary standards. “Then we’ll eventually get to the point where we can no longer produce at prices that the trade or consumers accept, despite the high quality of the meat,” says Palm.
He fears that the market will be flooded with cheap meat from EU countries that have no restrictions. His colleague Könninger in Rot am See sees it similarly: “We would then no longer be competitive,” he says.
Farmers are demanding Europe-wide regulation
Both say they are in favor of more animal welfare and have committed themselves to the voluntary benchmarks. But why, they ask, does Germany have to go it alone in setting binding benchmarks? “If the new rules only apply here, but nowhere else in the EU, it will only mean that meat is produced more cheaply in other EU countries, while German producers are left with their meat,” criticizes Palm. There are also no indications why animal welfare should be tied so strongly to the stocking density of the stables.
He gets support from Philipp Hofmann from the Bavarian State Research Center for Agriculture (LfL). He thinks the concerns of German farmers are justified: In Austria, for example, the standards were tightened some time ago, with the result that more cheap meat was imported from abroad. This can only be prevented by a European regulation.
But that is not in sight. The Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture reports that it has already campaigned several times at EU level for harmonized regulations for the keeping of fattening turkeys – without success. Nevertheless, the goal must now be to improve the husbandry conditions and permanently avoid health or behavioral disorders such as feather pecking and cannibalism among the animals.
Transitional periods planned for companies
In addition, this key issues paper is only intended as a basis for discussion. All relevant associations and experts have been asked to comment. Changes should after daily News-Information to be incorporated by Easter. According to the ministry, there should also be corresponding transitional periods for farmers.
Farmer Palm in Schrozberg does not believe that much will change in the draft ordinance, despite the opinions of the associations and experts. “The only hope I have left is that some state governments that care a lot about agriculture won’t just wave this proposal through,” he says.