The German Constitution includes the protection of animals as a state goal. The overarching federal animal welfare legislation in Germany, the Animal Protection Act (TierSchG), protects the lives and well-being of animals, defines the responsibility of humans for animals as ‘fellow creatures’, and states that no person may cause an animal pain, suffering or harm without ‘reasonable reason’ – although this term is not defined in legislation. It is especially positive that some sections of the Animal Protection Act are explicitly applicable to cephalopods, decapod crustaceans and other invertebrates. The protection of animals kept for farming purposes is achieved through: the Regulation on the Protection of Farm Animals (TierSchNutztV: which implements Council Directive 98/58/EC); the Regulation on the Protection of Animals at Slaughter or Killing (TierSchlV: which implements Council Directive EC No 1099/2009); and the Regulation for the Protection of Animals During Transport (TierSchTrV: which implements Council Directive EC 1/2005). The requirements for keeping animals in zoos and the private keeping of wild animals is achieved through the Federal Nature Conservation Act (BNatSchG), which provides specific details on the licencing of premises and the conditions in which animals must be kept (in accordance with their species-specific biological and conservation requirements). The protection of animals used for scientific purposes is achieved through the Animal Welfare: Laboratory Animal Regulation (TierSchVersV: which implements Directive 2010/63/EU). Additionally, Germany signed the European Convention on the Protection of Pets on 21 June 1988.

Despite implementing and, in some cases exceeding, the minimum European Union legislative requirements, there is room for improvement in some areas related to animal welfare. Animal sentience is not formally enshrined within the German Animal Protection Act. Additionally, the Federal Nature Conservation Act (BNatSchG) does not define ‘animal’, so it is unclear whether its provisions extend to wild animals. Furthermore, fur farming has only been banned in certain regions but not at the federal level.

Since the API was first published in 2014, Germany has updated and amended the Animal Protection Act (TierSchG: revised 2019), the Regulation on the Protection of Farm Animals (TierSchNutztV: revised 2017), the Regulation for the Protection of Animals During Transport (TierSchTrV: revised 2015), and the Animal Welfare: Laboratory Animal Regulation (TierSchVersV: updated 2015).

The Ministry of Food and Agriculture is given powers under the Animal Protection Act (TierSchG) to make secondary regulations on a wide variety of issues affecting animal welfare. The Ministry appoints an Animal Welfare Commission to assist it in animal welfare issues and must consult this Commission when making new regulations under the Act. It is positive that the Commission includes experts from animal welfare associations. The Nature Conservation Act (BNatSchG) allocates responsibility to the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation and to Federal competent authorities, depending on the issue in question.

The Government of Germany is urged to formally recognise animals as sentient in legislation, given the scientific evidence which has proven that all vertebrates, cephalopods and decapod crustaceans are sentient. Furthermore, the Government of Germany is strongly encouraged to expand the scope of application of its Animal Protection Act (TierSchG) to all animals. The Government of Germany is urged to ban the confinement of farm animals – for instance, in sow stalls and farrowing crates for pigs, and in cages for egg-laying hens, and the Government is urged to mandate the humane slaughter of all farm animals, with stunning prior to slaughter. The Government of Germany is furthermore urged to ban fur farming at the federal level, which is inherently cruel, causing pain and distress to animals. Further legal and policy recommendations are associated with each Animal Protection Index (API) indicator and contained in the relevant sections of this report.