Subject of the question:
The Main-Kinzig district has been an eco-model region since 2021. The production of organic and above all regional food is to be promoted and represents a particular challenge for the most populous district of Hesse. Above all, the slaughter and processing of the farm animals produced in the Main-Kinzig district should be carried out close to the consumer and without long transport routes. Animal transport is a major burden for animals.
Through regional and quickly accessible slaughterhouses, animal transports can be greatly shortened, even completely avoided by the use of a mobile slaughterhouse.
Questions:
How many approved slaughterhouses are there in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis?
Answer:
There are currently 25 approved slaughterhouses in the Main-Kinzig district (formerly 27 in 2020). In order to carry out commercial slaughter, EU approval of the respective slaughterhouse is required.
a. Which slaughterhouses are these and how many animals are slaughtered there per year?
Answer:
The slaughterhouses in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis are consistently structured by craftsmanship. They were, and continue to be, family businesses. The number of annual slaughters carried out on these holdings varies considerably depending on the marketing route. An analysis of the slaughterings carried out in 2020 showed that there were between one and 2093 slaughterings per holding. On average, therefore, approximately 467 slaughters per holding/year (in 2020) can be assumed.
b. How many of these slaughterhouses are certified organic?
Answer:
According to official knowledge, none of the slaughterhouses located in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis is organically certified, although according to their own statements, at least one of the slaughterhouses in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis also organic farmers have their livestock slaughtered regionally.
c. How many of these slaughterhouses are also cutting plants?
Answer:
Of the 25 slaughterhouses, 12 of them also have EU approval for cutting.
According to estimates by the administration: What percentage of the slaughter of animals on farms in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis cannot be carried out in the district because slaughterhouses are missing?
Answer:
Ø Poultry: 90%
Ø Beef: 90%
Ø Pig: 80%
Ø Sheep/goat: 50%
Ø Solipeds: 100%
Ø Farmed game: 85%
These estimates refer to the pure slaughter capacity. The second important aspect is the necessary value chain behind it. Without a reliable reduction of the slaughtered meat, the development of slaughtering capacities is not expedient.
How many permits were issued in 2020 for
a. the pasture shot?
Answer:
In 2020, the Office of Veterinary Affairs and Consumer Protection granted a total of 22 derogations for the shot in the pasture upon request.
b. The use of a mobile slaughterhouse?
Answer:
No authorisations for the use of a mobile slaughterhouse were granted in 2020, as no such applications were submitted to the Office for Veterinary Affairs and Consumer Protection.
What efforts does the Main-Kinzig-Kreis make to promote regional slaughterhouses in the district in order to avoid or shorten animal transport?
Answer:
The Main-Kinzig-Kreis (Main-Kinzig-Kreis) is the authorising body for the individual farm investment promotion programme for agriculture. This programme includes, inter alia, the promotion of diversification investments to allow farms to build up additional sources of income. These include court butcheries and slaughterhouses.
In addition, the Main-Kinzig-Kreis has been an eco-model region since 01.01.2021 and has thus set itself the goal of promoting and expanding the regional production, processing and marketing of agricultural products.
In the area of animal husbandry, the district is in close contact with the other model regions of Hesse and supports the project ‘Bio-Weiderind’. In this project, the offer of grazing cattle of Hessian organic farms is to be bundled. The aim is to relieve producers of the burden of marketing and to ensure that the special keeping of organic cattle is taken into account in the sale by establishing a new value chain.
How many inspections of animal transport were carried out by the Veterinary Office in 2020?
a. What percentage of all animal transports carried out in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis in 2020 are these?
b. How many violations of the Animal Welfare Transport Regulation have been identified?
c. Would an increase in the number of posts in the veterinary office bring a percentage improvement here?
Answer:
No transport controls were carried out in 2020 due to a lack of human resources. In addition, it should be borne in mind that the absolute number of transports does not come to official knowledge, as the Office for Veterinary Affairs and Consumer Protection only learns of such transports that transport livestock or commercial pets and cross national borders when the start or destination of the transport is in the Main-Kinzig district.
An increase in the necessary veterinary staff would enable the Office of Veterinary and Consumer Protection to carry out significant transport checks at all.
The use or purchase of a mobile slaughterhouse was not desired by the Main-Kinzig-Kreis. Here, EU law would be against a deployment, it said at the time in the explanatory memorandum. In Wetterau, a mobile slaughterhouse was implemented together with the ‘Extrawurst’ initiative, and there is also a farmer who operates a mobile poultry slaughterhouse, which was also supported by the EU, among other things.
a. What other EU directives or requirements apply in the Wetteraukreis that make it possible to use them there?
If the basic requirements are the same: What is the reason for the administration not to purchase a mobile slaughterhouse?
If the basic requirements are not the same: What steps would have to be taken to implement a mobile slaughterhouse in the district?
Answer:
In 2021, the legal situation across Europe changed. One of the recitals in the preamble to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 states:
"Improving animal welfare is one of the measures proposed by the Commission in its Farm to Fork Strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system as part of the European Green Deal. In particular, meat consumption habits have changed and the European Parliament, farmers and consumers are increasingly calling for the slaughter of certain domestic ungulates on the holding of origin to be allowed in order to avoid possible animal welfare problems in the collection and transport of these animals.”
Since 9 September 2021, therefore, a derogation has been in force which ‘allows the slaughter of domestic bovine animals (except bison), domestic pigs and horses on the holding of origin where there are risks in terms of occupational safety and animal welfare due to the transport of the animals to the slaughterhouse. The number of animals to be slaughtered per slaughter operation shall be limited to up to three bovine animals or up to six pigs or up to three horses.[1]“ Partially mobile slaughtering shall be carried out in this context. The mobile slaughter units are subjected to an aptitude test by the Regierungspräsidium Kassel as the competent body. With existence, such mobile units can be used or used alternately by several companies. This results in a high degree of flexibility, which was not available in the model project ‘Extrawurst’ at the time. Here, the mobile unit was part of an approved EU slaughterhouse.
Subject of the question:
The Main-Kinzig district has been an eco-model region since 2021. The production of organic and above all regional food is to be promoted and represents a particular challenge for the most populous district of Hesse. Above all, the slaughter and processing of the farm animals produced in the Main-Kinzig district should be carried out close to the consumer and without long transport routes. Animal transport is a major burden for animals.
Through regional and quickly accessible slaughterhouses, animal transports can be greatly shortened, even completely avoided by the use of a mobile slaughterhouse.
Questions:
How many approved slaughterhouses are there in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis?
Answer:
There are currently 25 approved slaughterhouses in the Main-Kinzig district (formerly 27 in 2020). In order to carry out commercial slaughter, EU approval of the respective slaughterhouse is required.
a. Which slaughterhouses are these and how many animals are slaughtered there per year?
Answer:
The slaughterhouses in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis are consistently structured by craftsmanship. They were, and continue to be, family businesses. The number of annual slaughters carried out on these holdings varies considerably depending on the marketing route. An analysis of the slaughterings carried out in 2020 showed that there were between one and 2093 slaughterings per holding. On average, therefore, approximately 467 slaughters per holding/year (in 2020) can be assumed.
b. How many of these slaughterhouses are certified organic?
Answer:
According to official knowledge, none of the slaughterhouses located in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis is organically certified, although according to their own statements, at least one of the slaughterhouses in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis also organic farmers have their livestock slaughtered regionally.
c. How many of these slaughterhouses are also cutting plants?
Answer:
Of the 25 slaughterhouses, 12 of them also have EU approval for cutting.
According to estimates by the administration: What percentage of the slaughter of animals on farms in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis cannot be carried out in the district because slaughterhouses are missing?
Answer:
Ø Poultry: 90%
Ø Beef: 90%
Ø Pig: 80%
Ø Sheep/goat: 50%
Ø Solipeds: 100%
Ø Farmed game: 85%
These estimates refer to the pure slaughter capacity. The second important aspect is the necessary value chain behind it. Without a reliable reduction of the slaughtered meat, the development of slaughtering capacities is not expedient.
How many permits were issued in 2020 for
a. the pasture shot?
Answer:
In 2020, the Office of Veterinary Affairs and Consumer Protection granted a total of 22 derogations for the shot in the pasture upon request.
b. The use of a mobile slaughterhouse?
Answer:
No authorisations for the use of a mobile slaughterhouse were granted in 2020, as no such applications were submitted to the Office for Veterinary Affairs and Consumer Protection.
What efforts does the Main-Kinzig-Kreis make to promote regional slaughterhouses in the district in order to avoid or shorten animal transport?
Answer:
The Main-Kinzig-Kreis (Main-Kinzig-Kreis) is the authorising body for the individual farm investment promotion programme for agriculture. This programme includes, inter alia, the promotion of diversification investments to allow farms to build up additional sources of income. These include court butcheries and slaughterhouses.
In addition, the Main-Kinzig-Kreis has been an eco-model region since 01.01.2021 and has thus set itself the goal of promoting and expanding the regional production, processing and marketing of agricultural products.
In the area of animal husbandry, the district is in close contact with the other model regions of Hesse and supports the project ‘Bio-Weiderind’. In this project, the offer of grazing cattle of Hessian organic farms is to be bundled. The aim is to relieve producers of the burden of marketing and to ensure that the special keeping of organic cattle is taken into account in the sale by establishing a new value chain.
How many inspections of animal transport were carried out by the Veterinary Office in 2020?
a. What percentage of all animal transports carried out in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis in 2020 are these?
b. How many violations of the Animal Welfare Transport Regulation have been identified?
c. Would an increase in the number of posts in the veterinary office bring a percentage improvement here?
Answer:
No transport controls were carried out in 2020 due to a lack of human resources. In addition, it should be borne in mind that the absolute number of transports does not come to official knowledge, as the Office for Veterinary Affairs and Consumer Protection only learns of such transports that transport livestock or commercial pets and cross national borders when the start or destination of the transport is in the Main-Kinzig district.
An increase in the necessary veterinary staff would enable the Office of Veterinary and Consumer Protection to carry out significant transport checks at all.
The use or purchase of a mobile slaughterhouse was not desired by the Main-Kinzig-Kreis. Here, EU law would be against a deployment, it said at the time in the explanatory memorandum. In Wetterau, a mobile slaughterhouse was implemented together with the ‘Extrawurst’ initiative, and there is also a farmer who operates a mobile poultry slaughterhouse, which was also supported by the EU, among other things.
a. What other EU directives or requirements apply in the Wetteraukreis that make it possible to use them there?
If the basic requirements are the same: What is the reason for the administration not to purchase a mobile slaughterhouse?
If the basic requirements are not the same: What steps would have to be taken to implement a mobile slaughterhouse in the district?
Answer:
In 2021, the legal situation across Europe changed. One of the recitals in the preamble to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 states:
"Improving animal welfare is one of the measures proposed by the Commission in its Farm to Fork Strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system as part of the European Green Deal. In particular, meat consumption habits have changed and the European Parliament, farmers and consumers are increasingly calling for the slaughter of certain domestic ungulates on the holding of origin to be allowed in order to avoid possible animal welfare problems in the collection and transport of these animals.”
Since 9 September 2021, therefore, a derogation has been in force which ‘allows the slaughter of domestic bovine animals (except bison), domestic pigs and horses on the holding of origin where there are risks in terms of occupational safety and animal welfare due to the transport of the animals to the slaughterhouse. The number of animals to be slaughtered per slaughter operation shall be limited to up to three bovine animals or up to six pigs or up to three horses.[1]“ Partially mobile slaughtering shall be carried out in this context. The mobile slaughter units are subjected to an aptitude test by the Regierungspräsidium Kassel as the competent body. With existence, such mobile units can be used or used alternately by several companies. This results in a high degree of flexibility, which was not available in the model project ‘Extrawurst’ at the time. Here, the mobile unit was part of an approved EU slaughterhouse.
English (UK)
comment article