Introduction
In order to comply with the requirements of the Animal Welfare Act (TierSchG) regarding the keeping of domestic geese, the Council of Europe’s recommendations on domestic geese are taken into account alongside the general provisions of the Animal Welfare Regulation for Farm Animals (TierSchNutztV). There are currently no further binding specific regulations in Germany.
To give concrete form to the Council of Europe’s recommendations, an agreement has been reached in Lower Saxony that specifies the husbandry requirements for domestic geese.
The so-called ‘Goose Husbandry Agreement’ is an agreement between the Lower Saxony Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (ML) and the Lower Saxony Poultry Industry Association (NGW) on minimum requirements for the rearing and fattening of geese. It is also used as a guide in other federal states outside Lower Saxony.
Under this agreement, livestock keepers undertake to comply with the minimum requirements for goose husbandry set out therein. These apply to herds of over 100 fattening geese and cover both rearing and fattening.
In accordance with Section 2(3) of the Animal Welfare Act (TierSchG), the animal keeper must possess the relevant knowledge and skills to ensure the appropriate feeding, care and species-appropriate housing of the animals, and must provide evidence of this expertise to the competent authority upon request.
According to the Goose Husbandry Agreement, the following are accepted as proof of expertise
- a successfully completed training course as a farmer or livestock manager, with specific focus on poultry farming (e.g. ‘Inter-farm training in poultry farming’ at the Ruthe Teaching and Research Farm of the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover Foundation) or
- a successfully completed degree in agricultural sciences or veterinary medicine, or
- the independent rearing of geese over at least three fattening cycles, involving no fewer than 100 geese, without any complaints regarding animal welfare from the competent authority.
In cases of doubt regarding expertise in individual cases, the competent authority may require proof of such expertise during a technical consultation. This document is intended to impart expertise in the field of fattening goose rearing. It may be used as part of inter-farm training or for self-study, e.g. as preparation for the aforementioned technical consultation.