Farmers will only be allowed a single antibiotic alert from 2027 onwards.

The Federal Government of Germany has announced significant changes to the agricultural statistics law, as decided by the Federal Cabinet on August 6th. The changes, which are aimed at relieving veterinarians, businesses, and authorities, were outlined by the Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture, Alois Rainer.

One of the key changes concerns a bureaucratic reduction in livestock farming. Many businesses will no longer have to make separate reports due to the amendments. This is expected to save approximately 800,000 euros annually by using existing administrative data more effectively.

Another significant change is the expansion of antibiotic consumption monitoring. From 2026, dogs and cats will be added to the monitoring in Germany. The first reporting of antibiotic usage data for these animals is required by January 28, 2026. However, the obligation to record consumption for dogs and cats has been postponed from 2025 to 2029.

The changes do not affect the once-yearly TAM report requirement in livestock farming from 2027. From 2027, the currently mandatory twice-yearly TAM report in livestock farming will only be required once a year.

The additional animal species included in the expanded monitoring are sheep, goats, geese, ducks, certain fish species, horses, and rabbits. The ministry, however, did not provide specific details about the changes to the monitoring of antibiotic use for these species.

The state is expected to save approximately 100 million euros in implementation costs between 2025 and 2028. The changes are expected to result in millions in savings.

The changes to the agricultural statistics law do not affect the expansion of antibiotic consumption data recording to include more animal species from 2026. The federal government has not announced any plans to change the decision as stated by Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture Alois Rainer.

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The draft laws need to go through the parliamentary procedure before they can be officially implemented. The federal government remains committed to its goal of streamlining agricultural processes and promoting responsible antibiotic usage.