Animal welfare under pressure: debate about pig farming on May 21st live!

Animal welfare under pressure: debate about pig farming on May 21st live!

Wien, Österreich - on May 21, 2025 at 7:55 p.m. on Puls 24 and Joyn finds a discussion round under the title “Pro & Contra Special: Meat at all costs - how much is the schnitzel worth to us?” instead of. The focus is on the keeping conditions of animals, especially pigs that often live on controversial full -split floors. Such floors can harm the animals and are in sharp criticism of animal rights activists and experts.

like the OTS reports, with some exceptions, there should be no more fully column floors with some exceptions. However, this regulation is considered inadequate by animal rights activists. The discussion also raises basic questions about animal husbandry, meat consumption and the importance of a vegan lifestyle. Guests of the round include Georg Strasser, Wolfgang Feistritzer, Lea Green and Eva Rosenberg, while Gundula Geikinger takes over the moderation.

animal protection package and criticism of pig farming

The current discussion is fueled by the new animal welfare package, which was presented in early May. The Kleine Zeitung quotes Eva Persy, the head of the animal welfare unombuds office in Vienna, who describes the proposed minimum standards as insufficient. The housing conditions of pigs in particular are a recurring topic in statements on this law. Experts such as the climate researcher Helga Kromp-Kolb and organic pig maker Norbert Hackl demand an end to the full-split floors and indicate that many forms of husbandry are not animal-friendly.

Persy argues that a fundamental revision of the animal welfare package should urgently be made before voting in the National Council. Up to this point, 24 statements on the Animal Welfare Act have already been received, 13 of which come from the NGO sector.

animal welfare as a central topic

The topic of animal welfare is increasingly controversial in society. The term refers not only to the physical constitution of the animals, but also to their psychological well -being. The Statista describes the five freedoms of the Farm Animal Welfare Council, which are used to define animal welfare:

• freedom of hunger and thirst
• Freedom of posture -related complaints
• Freedom of pain, injury or illness
• Freedom of normal living out species -specific behavior
• Freedom of fear and stress

In Germany, around 48 million animals were slaughtered in 2023, with animal welfare measures and the spread of animal welfare products more and more in focus. The discussion about animal welfare, animal husbandry and production conditions is becoming more important and shows that consumers are increasingly emphasizing more transparent and sustainable meat consumption.