Germany to make CCTV mandatory in slaughterhouses

Slaughterhouses in Germany will soon be obliged to install video surveillance if the plant is over a certain size, the CDU/CSU-SPD coalition has announced.

Video surveillance soon mandatory in German slaughterhouses

Federal Agriculture Minister Alois Reiner (CDU) has announced that slaughterhouses in Germany will soon be obliged to install surveillance cameras.

Speaking to the Rheinische Post, Reiner said that only larger slaughterhouses would be obliged to follow the new rules, while smaller slaughterhouses will be exempt. The minister is yet to specify what constitutes a large or small slaughterhouse.

Until now, slaughterhouses have installed CCTV on their premises on a voluntary basis. “I see [the new rules] as a mark of quality for the slaughter industry,” Reiner told the newspaper, “And if there are irregularities, [CCTV footage] is helpful for local veterinary authorities.”

According to ZDF, around 2 million animals are slaughtered in Germany every day. CCTV could also benefit slaughterhouse employees, who often work under poor conditions and are vulnerable to serious accidents from interacting with distressed animals and heavy machinery. 

CCTV policy has been in the works for a while

The push for mandatory CCTV in German slaughterhouses is not new, and the previous SPD-FDP-Greens coalition also made attempts to update rules.

In August this year, Germany’s Animal Welfare Officer Silvia Breher (CDU) named the policy as one of her top priorities. “Those who mistreat animals in the last phase of their lives must also have to take responsibility for their actions,” Breher said, according to a report from Tagesschau.

Breher stepped down from her role as Animal Welfare Officer in September, after criticism that her simultaneous position as Reiner’s undersecretary created a conflict of interest. Breher denied there was a conflict.