WattAgNet: Germany to end beak tipping

Voluntary agreement to phase out trimming over next year and a half

Release Date: 2015-07-27

Beak tipping in Germany will end on January 1, 2017. The German Poultry Association, the German Egg Association and the Association of German Turkey Producers have entered into an agreement with Germany’s Federal Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt, albeit on a voluntary basis, to end the practice.

The sector will stop beak tipping layers from August 1, 2016, and will stop stocking pullets with tipped beaks from January 2017.

Leo Graf von Drechsel, president of the Central Association of the German Poultry Industry commented: “Animal welfare is key for guiding our daily work. We see ourselves as constructive partners, we hear very clearly what society thinks and we are proud to have implemented this agreement on a voluntary basis.”

He continued that, in order for the German layer sector to not be put at a disadvantage by the agreement, it should be promoted at European level and the practice harmonized across the European Union’s Member States.