The Bundestag Committee on Food and Agriculture approved an amendment to the Animal Welfare Act on 5 November 2026, providing for mandatory video surveillance at large slaughterhouses. The draft Fifth Act Amending the Animal Welfare Act aims to document procedures relevant to animal welfare, from unloading animals to the stages of the process immediately preceding stunning and killing. Under the committee’s draft resolution, the law is due to come into force in 2027; final plenary deliberations and the details to be set out in an ordinance are still pending.
The federal government cites repeated breaches of animal welfare requirements at slaughterhouses and calls for more transparent inspections as the reasons for the measure. Operators of larger facilities will be required to install cameras in areas where animal welfare is particularly sensitive and to keep records of the footage in a traceable manner. Access rights and retention periods are to be regulated by the authorities. Official veterinarians point to experience in local authorities showing that cameras have a preventive effect and make procedures easier to monitor.
The German Animal Welfare Federation welcomes the direction of travel, but considers the measure inadequate. According to the organisation, the requirement is likely to cover only a small proportion of the roughly 4,000 slaughter facilities nationwide. It criticises exemptions and the lack of binding rules on reviewing footage and taking action. The organisation is calling for the requirement to be extended to all slaughterhouses, for clear retention deadlines and for the authorities to be required to review the footage.
Legal and data protection issues were also highlighted during the deliberations. Lawyers insist that video surveillance must be proportionate: comprehensive recordings are justified only where there is an increased risk to animal welfare. In addition, access must be restricted to a narrowly defined group in order to protect business and staff data. Supporters from the governing parties stress that the proposed technical standards and exemptions reflect a balance between animal welfare, data protection and the burden on businesses.
It remains unclear what thresholds will ultimately be used to classify a facility as a large slaughterhouse and how the authorities’ monitoring of recordings will be organised. The Opposition calls for legally robust criteria to prevent circumvention and warns against bureaucracy without measurable additional benefits. The coalition points to the ordinances still to be issued, which are intended to set out details on camera locations, resolution, retention periods and audit procedures. The committee’s vote has paved the way for the final deliberations; amendments to the Animal Welfare Act remain possible before the rules can take effect in 2027.
Editor: Daniel Mayer (Article created with AI assistance).