The Initiative Tierwohl offers poultry farmers three programmes with different levels of requirements. By participating in “Stall plus Platz,” you already meet criteria that exceed the legal standard. In the “Frischluftstall” and “Auslauf” programmes, the requirements are higher and correspond to the specifications for classification in husbandry levels 3 and 4.

All participating trading partners and restaurants pay a price surcharge for this poultry to the suppliers. The suppliers then pass on the surcharge along the value chain to the livestock owners.

A recommendation has been made for the price surcharge for the “Stall plus Platz” programme:

– Broilers per kg live weight 2.97 cents

– Turkeys per kg live weight 3.64 cents

– Turkey cocks per kg live weight 4.38 cents

The Initiative Tierwohl is not making any price recommendations for the “Frischluftstall” and “Auslauf” programmes for the time being. Market participants are negotiating the additional price for the higher costs of livestock farming independently of this.

The three programmes “Stall plus Platz,” “Frischluftstall,” and “Auslauf” of the Initiative Tierwohl, which have different levels of requirements, build on each other. This means that a livestock owner who is a participant in “Auslauf,” for example, is also eligible to participate in “Stall plus Platz” and “Frischluftstall.” This is possible because the same general requirements must be implemented in all three programmes. In addition, all participating companies must participate in the QS scheme, regardless of the programme.

1. Preliminary Check: If interested, livestock owners must first review the documents in the download section of the website to determine whether participation is even an option for them and their company – in other words, whether it is feasible

2. Select a coordinator: In the next step, livestock owners must choose a coordinator from the list of approved coordinators with whom they will enter into an agreement to participate in the Initiative Tierwohl.

3. Registration: Registration is completed using the registration form, which the coordinator fills out and which is countersigned by both the coordinator and the livestock owner. The coordinator enters the livestock owner’s data into the Initiative Tierwohl database, thereby registering them. In doing so, the livestock owner also specifies when they will begin implementing the Initiative Tierwohl’s requirements (implementation date).

4. Audit: Once the implementation date has been reached, the programme audit takes place. If the audit is passed, the livestock owners receive a confirmation of participation and are authorized to supply products for the Initiative Tierwohl upon release of the audit report.

5. Compensation: Livestock owners receive a price premium for animals delivered (starting from the approval date of the audit report) based on live weight in kilograms, provided the slaughterhouse reports these as Initiative Tierwohl animals to the Initiative Tierwohl. The Initiative Tierwohl recommends a price of 2.97 cents per kg of live weight for broiler chickens, 3.64 cents for female turkeys, and 4.38 cents for turkey cocks.

Certification bodies coordinate the independent inspections at participating farms. Together with their employees, they form an important link between the Operating Company of the Initiative Tierwohl and the agricultural businesses participating in the initiative. They manage the inspection process and train the auditors who check and perform evaluations to determine whether the criteria are being implemented in accordance with the regulations.

Each participant is inspected at least twice a year. There are different types of audits, i.e., inspections on the farm. One of the audits, the so-called programme audit, is announced a maximum of 24 hours before the inspection and is very comprehensive. All documents are also checked here. In addition, there is the stock check. Here, only the criteria in the shed are examined, and it takes place completely unannounced. In addition, the farmer must have the climate in his barn and drinking water checked externally by experts once a year. Only if the inspection is passed may the company continue to participate in the Initiative Tierwohl. If the farmer does not implement the animal welfare requirements properly, he is excluded from the Initiative Tierwohl and may have to pay a contractual penalty.

If a livestock owner fails to meet the criteria of a higher programme (Frischluftstall or Auslauf), they are not necessarily immediately excluded from the ITW. Instead, they are downgraded to a lower programme. The prerequisite for this is that compliance with the General requirements and the requirements of the lower ITW-level is demonstrated in the audit. If there are suspected cases of a livestock owner not implementing the measures correctly, additional audits of special purpose will be carried out.