Foodwatch calls for an end to tethering for bulls and cows
The food industry likes to present itself as animal-friendly. Unfortunately, the reality is often different. In many German stables, for example, bulls and dairy cows live tethered in very confined spaces. The consumer organization Foodwatch is now fighting for stricter husbandry rules.
The consumer organization Foodwatch has called on the coalition government to keep its promise from the coalition agreement and ban the tethering of cattle. More than one million dairy cows and bulls are tethered in confined spaces in German stables and can barely move, Foodwatch explained. Around one in three dairy farms in Germany keep their cows tethered, and in Bavaria it is one in two, according to the farmers' association.
"Even if the food industry would like to give a different impression, the sad reality for hundreds of thousands of cattle in Germany is not green pastures, but a life in chains," said Annemarie Botzki from Foodwatch. "For our cheese, yoghurt or a glass of milk, cows often endure an agonizing existence tied up in cramped stalls." Tethering is not compatible with animal welfare.
The SPD, Greens and FDP had agreed in their 2021 coalition agreement that they wanted to end tethering "in ten years at the latest". A draft bill from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture is apparently stuck in the cabinet vote, Foodwatch explained. The organization launched an email protest campaign on its website to the government.
Foodwatch also objected to any compromises such as so-called combined husbandry. This means that the animals can move around on 120 days, but remain tethered for most of the year. In Foodwatch's view, this is also a violation of the Animal Welfare Act.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, there were around 10.9 million cattle in Germany as of May 3, 2023. Cattle actually live on pastures in social herds and walk several kilometers every day, as Foodwatch pointed out. Veterinary studies have shown that dairy cows kept indoors suffer particularly frequently from painful udder infections.
Read also:
Foodwatch emphasizes that many German dairy farms continue to tether animals, which contradicts the food industry's image as animal-friendly. The organization encourages supporters to sign an email protest against this practice on their Foodwatch website.
Despite the apparent promise from the 2021 coalition agreement to end tethering within a decade, Foodwatch criticizes the delay in implementing a draft bill from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture.
Source: www.ntv.de
