For Lower Austrian Farmers’ Association director Nemecek, this issue is “not a political wish-list”
St.Pölten (OTS) – After Federal Minister Johannes Rauch repeatedly calls for an end to the ban on fully slatted floors in pig farming by 2030, Lower Austrian Farmers’ Association director Paul Nemecek counters him with the “non-existent” constitutional leeway and makes a clear demand to Rauch: “This is not about a political dream concert, but about a solution that is 100% constitutionally clean and creates planning security for the entire pig industry in Austria. That’s what we expect from the minister and that’s what our farmers deserve.”
Smoke leaves more questions than answers
The renowned constitutional expert Univ.-Prof. Peter Bußjäger describes Rauch’s proposal as “constitutionally problematic”: “A general transition period until 2030 without appropriate support for the transition is in any case constitutionally problematic. Even in the case of generous switching subsidies, special care would have to be taken to ensure that those companies that are now building a new stable are not disadvantaged.”
At the beginning of the year, Rauch had already spoken in the media about a proposal that called for a very short transition period until 2030. “These announcements, which were already viewed as problematic by constitutional experts at the time, have not been followed by any concrete legislative proposal since the beginning of the year. This alone shows the minister’s lack of seriousness in actually wanting to solve this issue. As of today, Rauch leaves significantly more questions than answers in his area of responsibility,” says Nemecek.
Create planning and supply security
It is completely incomprehensible to the Lower Austrian Farmers’ Association director why Rauch has been calling for constitutionally problematic, if not unconstitutional, implementation since the beginning of the year. The ÖVP, together with the affected pig farmers and technical experts, made a concrete and constitutionally compliant proposal for implementing the fully slatted floor ban. “For us, it is not the end of the fully slatted floor that is under discussion, but rather the how. And here our companies need planning security. And this planning security goes hand in hand with the security of supply of domestic pork,” said Nemecek, referring to the implementation plan presented by Farmers’ Association President Georg Strasser this week.
“Our pig farmers are already massively unsettled by the VfGH’s current decision. We will not agree to a solution that is not 100% constitutional. We will therefore fight side by side, now also using legal means, for our pig farmers and security of supply in Austria. “If our coalition partner wants it that way, judges will no longer have to decide on this issue,” says Nemecek, regretting the lack of will to find a constitutional solution. “Especially on today’s World Farmers’ Day, we would have expected the Greens to show more appreciation for the country’s farmers, who bring the food we all need to the table 365 days a year,” concluded Nemecek.
Green standstill since January 2024
In January 2024, a ruling by the Constitutional Court was published, which provides for an adjustment of the transition period for the ban on unstructured full-slatted pens without functional areas in pig farming. Since then, the federal government has been asked to adapt the Animal Protection Act accordingly under the responsibility of Federal Minister Johannes Rauch. Despite fact-based business principles for justifying an adjusted transition period that have long been available, there is still no agreement to date.
Questions & Contact:
Benjamin Lorenzer
Press spokesman
Lower Austrian Farmers’ Association
Ferstlergasse 4
3100 St. Pölten
Tel.: 02742/9020-2340
Mobil: 0664/839 74 29
Email: lorenzer@noebauernbund.at