Maisach - On Thursday in Maisach, on the organic farm of the Leonbacher family in Frauenberg, Bavaria's Minister of Agriculture Michaela Kaniber awarded three agricultural companies from Bavaria the Animal Welfare Prize 2022 for their particularly interesting structural solutions and management measures to improve animal welfare in their stables.
The prize, each worth 3,300 euros, went to the cattle fattening farm of Sebastian and Michaela Leonbacher in the district of Bruck, to the dairy farm of the Grandl family from Marzling in the district of Freising and to the dairy farm of the Himmelstoss family from Michelsneukirchen in the district of Cham.
A jury made up of experts and practitioners from research, administration, animal welfare and the profession selected the three winning companies from the 18 applications received.
Since 2014, the Animal Welfare Prize has been awarded to specific projects that have already been successfully implemented in practice.
"They made a conscious decision to have significantly more animal welfare in their animal husbandry," praised Kaniber.
“That is exemplary, because you take up societal expectations.
At the same time, you face the challenges of the future and recognize the development potential of your company.
The implementation of your ideas gives others a great example of how the welfare of livestock in the stables can be sustainably improved with structural and management solutions," said the Minister to the award winners at the award ceremony.
Jury member introduces the three winners
Jury member Klaus Reiter, professor of agriculture, presented the three winners with a video in which the families justified their decisions.
The Leonbacher farm received the award for the overall very species-appropriate husbandry of the fattening animals.
The Leonbacher Biohof has created favorable conditions in the stable, such as litter, lots of space, a light-flooded stable and the possibility of grazing.
"Bavaria without farmers" is not possible, the minister went into the current situation of livestock farming and the Bavarian approaches to animal welfare.
"We want the stables of the future to be in Bavaria," said Kaniber.
With the Bavarian special program for agriculture (BaySL), the state government supports selected investments and improvement measures for animal welfare in small and medium-sized farms.
Kaniber calls for legal brake pads to be removed as soon as possible
Kaniber demands from the federal government that the legal obstacles to the construction and immission control law for animal welfare stables be removed as quickly as possible before many companies throw in the towel.
Kaniber particularly regrets that the Federal Minister of Agriculture is not providing the necessary additional funds for the conversion of animal husbandry.
"In these difficult times, the draft budget of the traffic light sends the wrong signal to our livestock farmers," said the Minister of Agriculture.
Last but not least, the consumers at the counter also have to contribute to the costs, says Kaniber.
"It's not enough to pay lip service." Otherwise, animal husbandry will increasingly migrate abroad, where food of animal origin can be produced more cheaply without regard to animal welfare.
Dieter Metzler