2023-06-26 13:35:30
BERLIN. Germany now has a government official responsible for protecting the rights of cats, dogs, chickens, lambs and other animals: Ariane Kari. The appointment was finally made to ensure the implementation of the German decree adopted in 2002, which declared the protection of animals a national goal: The federal government now has an animal rights officer. Her name is veterinarian Ariane Kari.
Kari explains his goals as follows: “I see my work as the animal rights officer of the federal government as an opportunity to better protect animals. I will try to inform the public about the welfare and protection of animals through education and public relations work. Because knowledge protects animals.“
Germany now has a government official responsible for protecting the rights of cats, dogs, chickens, lambs and other animals: Ariane Kari
Ariane Kari will serve under the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture. Minister Cem Özdemir praises Kari as a “proven expert” and says “With the establishment of such a unit at the federal level, we will further strengthen animal rights in Germany structurally and institutionally. “This shows how important the issue of animal welfare is to the Federal Government.”
For the first time, the rights of pets and livestock in Germany will be protected by a federally responsible person. The country has approximately 11 million cattle, 26 million pigs and 173 million poultry. To date, nine states have had animal rights officers. One of them, Kari, has held this post in the state of Baden-Württemberg since 2017.
A challenging task awaits Kari.
Ariane Kari is not only showered with praise by her future supervisor, Özdemir. Thomas Schröder, President of the German Animal Protection Association, Germany’s leading animal rights activist, also thinks Kari is a good choice. Schroeder, who repeats that he expects the veterinarian to have a “challenging task” from now on, does not hide some of his concerns:
“In principle, the creation of the Federal Animal Responsibility Authority is the right step. However, I still have concerns as to whether its effect will actually be sufficient. Ariane Kari will only advise Minister Cem Özdemir, but will not be able to reach other ministers directly. This means that its influence and authority will be limited.”
Thomas Schröder, President of the German Animal Protection AssociationPhoto: Deutscher Tierschutzbund
Schröder explains this concern with concrete examples: „If animals are crammed into double-decker transport vehicles and their backs are constantly hitting the ceiling, it is of concern to the Ministry of Transport. Today, the question of which animal experiments are acceptable and which are unacceptable falls under the jurisdiction of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.“
Animal rights are an isolated area for now.
But will Federal Minister of Transport Volker Wissing or Federal Minister of Education and Research Bettina Stark-Watzinger allow them to be persuaded by a federal commissioner from another ministry? Schröder also has his doubts about this: „For now, other ministries have no role in this task and I think this is a mistake. Because with animal welfare becoming a national goal, all ministries, not just the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, have to consider issues related to animal rights.”
On August 1, 2022, Germany became the first country in the European Union (EU) to put animal rights in the constitution as a state goal, with the addition of “From now on, the state shall protect the natural foundations of life ‚and animals” in Article 20a of the Constitution. This important move reinforced the pioneering role of Germany, Europe’s unofficial champion of animal protection.
As a matter of fact, court jurisprudence, such as the decision of the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig in 2019, shows that animal welfare in the country has long been taken seriously. In the decision, the judges said, “The economic interests of the hatcheries are not the sole reason for mass killing of male chicks”. After this decision, the culling of male chicks was prohibited.
Photo: Waltraud Grubitzsch/dpa/picture-alliance
Germany is no longer European champion in animal rights
But many animal protection organizations criticize the fact that, twenty years after the amendment, too much talk about the benefits of animals, too little about their protection, and that animal rights, the basis of animal husbandry in industrial agriculture, are still largely ignored. This is why Thomas Schröder argues that Germany has long ceased to play a leading role:
„We have fallen to the bottom in protecting animals. Because there have been deliberate gaps in the animal protection law for decades and no one is doing anything to fix them. I believe that the belief that we are the best in Europe in protecting animal rights is no longer true.”
Seniors hostel for animals in Germany
Kari doesn’t have much time
So Ariane Kari has a lot to do, but she doesn’t have much time for it. The mandate of the Federal Animal Rights Officer expires with the legislative term. This office may be a one-time exception if a new government takes office in Germany with less emphasis on animal welfare at the end of 2025. Despite all the negativities, Thomas Schröder summarizes his expectations from Ariane Kari in the next two and a half years:
“My biggest wish is that every ministry, be it transport, research or justice, must justify its decisions in terms of animal welfare. Every bill should be prepared according to the following criteria: Have issues related to equality, sustainability and animal protection been clarified? After all, under every law it should be written: It is in line with the state’s goal of protecting animals!” (DW)
#Germanys #animal #rights #officer