The German Equestrian Federation (FN) reports: The debate surrounding the new scale of fees for vets (GOT) shows no sign of abating. Since the new GOT came into force in November 2022, horse owners and pet owners have found that many bills have doubled.

“Many of our horse owners have been in for a real shock when it comes to their latest vet bills; for many pet owners, this is no longer affordable, and it is at the expense of the animals and animal welfare if the vet is called too late or not at all,” said FN President Hans-Joachim Erbel, expressing his concerns. Through two large-scale petitions, the FN, together with the newly founded Association of German Animal Owners (VDTH), aims to draw attention to the problem.

Horse breeding and equestrian associations launch petition to the BMEL
Through a large-scale petition drive, the FN, together with 58 horse breeding and equestrian associations as well as the VDTH, is calling for an immediate review and revision of the current fee schedule. “We asked all our member and affiliated associations whether they wanted to take part, and received a 100 per cent approval rate. A few more clubs have even joined us, so we now have a total of 60 supporters for the campaign,” explained FN Secretary-General Soenke Lauterbach at the joint press conference. “In addition, as of this week, all our clubs and businesses are receiving leaflets, posters and petition forms to help us with the petition drive.”

As many signatures as possible are needed for this campaign, which will then be handed over directly to Cem Özdemir, the Federal Minister for Agriculture responsible for the GOT. The campaign runs until 30 January 2024. Signatures can be provided online or on signature sheets. Sign the petition now.

VDTH is collecting signatures for the Bundestag’s
Petitions Committee At the same time, the VDTH has already submitted a petition to the Bundestag’s Petitions Committee. Signatures are also being collected for this. A letter to the Petitions Committee can now be downloaded from the VDTH website. Over the coming weeks, many pet owners will receive postcards addressed to the Petitions Committee as inserts in magazines or at events. Once the petition has been published online on ‘epetitionen’, it will also be possible to sign it digitally. The VDTH expects it to be published in mid-December 2023 on its website at www.vdth-ev.de/petition.

“We have decided to pursue both avenues: on the one hand, to collect as many signatures as possible so that we can then hand them over to the Federal Minister for Agriculture in a way that attracts as much public attention as possible, so that he recognises how important the issue is and how many people are affected; and on the other hand, but also to take the political route by submitting a petition to the Bundestag’s Petitions Committee and to try to get the Petitions Committee to address the GOT,” explains Lauterbach.

Further information, leaflets, posters, signature lists and postcards are available to download at www.got-so-nicht.de 

Signature list available for download

Photo: Pixabay/Graphic: FN