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Photo: Martin Wagner / imago images / Martin Wagner
In German agriculture, most of the livestock are still kept under controversial conditions.
In the case of pigs, a form of husbandry has even continued to prevail that is viewed particularly critically by animal rights activists.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, 96 percent of the pigs' rearing places are equipped with slatted floors.
Accordingly, the fully slatted floor was still the dominant housing method in 2020.
These are concrete floors with crevices through which feces and urine fall.
According to veterinarians and animal rights activists, this form of keeping animals can lead to joint problems, among other things.
Much fewer farms, but almost as many pigs
Among the establishments with slatted floors, the proportion of those who rely on fully slatted floors has increased from 67 to 79 percent in a ten-year comparison.
On the other hand, the proportion of partially slatted floors decreased (17 percent; 2010: 25 percent), where the animals also have eating and lying areas with straw.
Boxes with deep litter or litter are hardly widespread (4 percent; 2010: 8 percent).
And only one percent of the pigs' rearing places have access to an outdoor run.
The statistics also show that the number of pig farms in Germany has almost halved within ten years (34,800 farms; 2010: 65,200 farms).
But almost as many pigs are being kept as there were ten years ago.
The number of stalls has only decreased slightly from 28.5 million to 27.8 million.
The Federal Statistical Office also noted progress in animal welfare in the agricultural census.
The tethering of cattle has fallen sharply by 62 percent since 2010.
At about every tenth keeping place - 1.1 million out of 11.5 million - the animals are tied up so that they can hardly move.
In place of these places, so-called loose stalls are increasingly being used, in which the cattle can move around more freely.
As of March 1, 2020, they accounted for around 83 percent of capacity.
However, not even every third cattle (31 percent) is allowed to graze.
In 2010 it was 37 percent.
Progress in laying hens
Free-range husbandry is becoming increasingly important for laying hens in Germany - but free-range husbandry is still the dominant form of husbandry.
According to statistics, freezing had a share of 65 percent in 2020, and 66 percent in 2010.
However, the proportion of free-range husbandry increased significantly during the period: from 17 to 31 percent.
Recently, only four percent of the hens were kept in so-called designed cages.
This type of husbandry is now banned, the deadline expires in 2025.
Organic farming is particularly complex for pigs
The Federal Statistical Office recently published figures that only a small proportion of farm animals in Germany are kept under organic conditions.
It is particularly blatant with pigs - although pork is the most widely consumed meat in Germany.
Nationwide there were only 1,600 farms with organic pig farming last year.
The reasons for the low organic content in pigs are the high requirements.
Both the conversion of stables and their keeping are expensive.
For example, farmers have to show a lot of space for organic fattening pigs.
All of this makes organic pork significantly more expensive than meat from conventionally kept animals.
mmq / dpa / AFP