As part of the African swine fever (ASF) surveillance program in North Rhine-Westphalia, a wild boar carcass was discovered near Bad Berleburg, in the Siegen-Wittgenstein district. The Friedrich Loeffler Institute (FLI) confirmed the presence of the disease in the animal.

The wild boar carcass was found within the restricted zone, which covers parts of the Olpe, Siegen-Wittgenstein and Hochsauerland districts. Search teams from the canine unit, emergency personnel from the Siegen-Wittgenstein district, and volunteers continue to inspect the site near Bad Berleburg for more wild boar carcasses.

So far, in North Rhine-Westphalia 12 positive cases of ASF have been detected in wild boar: 11 in the district of Olpe (municipality of Kirchhundem) and one in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein (municipality of Bad Berleburg).

The Federal Council is improving the labeling of animal-derived foods. In the future, meat, eggs, and milk must be labeled if they come from animals that have undergone certain painful procedures without anesthesia. Foie gras is also now subject to mandatory labeling. The Federal Council adopted the corresponding ordinance amendments on May 28, 2025.

With the new declaration requirements, the Federal Council is increasing transparency for consumers and enabling informed purchasing decisions. To this end, it is amending the Foodstuffs and Utility Articles Ordinance (LGV) and the Food Information Ordinance (LIV). The changes will apply from July 1, 2025, with a transition period of two years.

The following products must be relabeled:

• Beef from animals that have been castrated or dehorned without anesthesia
• Pork if castration, tail docking, or teeth clipping was performed without anesthesia
• Eggs and meat from chickens whose beaks were clipped without pain relief
• Milk from cows dehorned without pain relief
• Frog legs obtained without anesthesia
• Liver and meat of geese and ducks from force-fed production

The declaration requirement applies to all businesses that offer the affected foods, such as restaurants or small and retail businesses. These businesses must check, as part of their self-regulation, whether they are subject to declaration requirements.

At the same time, the Federal Council will prohibit the import of fur and fur products produced through animal cruelty starting July 1, 2025 – also with a transition period of two years.

According to preliminary data from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) livestock survey, there were 15,250 pig farms in Germany as of May 3, 2025, which represents a 2.6% decrease (-400 farms) compared to November 3, 2024. Compared to the previous year, the number of farms decreased by 3.3% (-520 farms). Compared to ten years ago, the number of farms decreased by 41% (-10,600 farms).

The number of pigs raised in Germany on May 3, 2025 was 20.9 million head. Compared to November 3, 2024, the pig herd has decreased by 1.8% (-375,000 head), and by 1.2% compared to the previous year (-256,900 head).

Over the last ten years, the pig herd has decreased significantly, by 25.6% (-7.2 million head), but to a lesser extent than the number of farms. Therefore, the trend towards larger farms continues. In 2015, a farm had an average of 1,100 pigs. Ten years later, this figure has increased to 1,400 head per farm.

By category, there were 9.4 million finishing pigs in Germany as of May 3, 2025, down 0.7%, or 64,500 head, from the previous year. The number of piglets and young pigs decreased by 1.6% or 164,500 head compared to May 2024 to 10.1 million. The number of breeding sows, at 1.4 million head, decreased by 1.3% (-18,200 head) compared to May 2024.