NEOS on RH report: Put an end to control failures in livestock farming

NEOS animal welfare spokeswoman Katharina Werner is not surprised that the Court of Auditors identifies a data problem in its new report on agricultural animal husbandry: “Once again, the confusion of competences between the federal and state governments leads to a failure to control animal welfare and to a waste of tax money in funding. As long as the Ministry of Health does not collect any data on violations of the Animal Welfare Act and the responsible district authorities do not continuously inform the AMA, which is responsible for processing the funding, about any procedures, the ‘black sheep’ among the companies can also collect the full funding unhindered. “This is completely absurd and a slap in the face for all honest agricultural businesses that take animal welfare seriously, and not just on paper,” said Werner, who insists on rapid reforms. “In order for something to finally change here, we urgently need to make the administration more efficient and modern, create clear responsibilities and make states like Upper Austria, which do not even meet the legally required two percent inspection rate of all animal-keeping businesses, more responsible.”