A new and improved code of animal welfare is set to come into practice in Germany after an agreement by industry stakeholders. The move comes on the back of negative publicity and criticism on the standard of animal husbandry in the country.

Farmers who voluntarily take on these higher welfare standards will be financially rewarded with a €500 bonus, with additional payments possible.

The project is set to be rolled out in 2015 and the pork sector is the first to be targeted, most likely followed by the poultry sector. Previous attempts to introduce new welfare labels on meat products had minimal farmer uptake without any financial incentive.

The new agreement has been backed by the meat industry, farmers and retailers. Retailers will put four cents from every kilogram of meat sold into the fund, which is expected to raise a pot of €65m for re-investing in welfare-compliant farms.