Bernburg/Bad Schmiedeberg (dpa/sa) - The Kirschhof Ines Leonhardi in Bad Schmiedeberg (Wittenberg district) has been awarded the Animal Welfare Prize 2022 of the State of Saxony-Anhalt for the species-appropriate husbandry of farm animals. The organic farming of laying hens on the farm was thus acknowledged, as the Ministry of Agriculture announced on Tuesday. The first prize is endowed with 1500 euros. The farmer Leonhardi, who manages two stalls for 300 laying hens each on an area of 16 hectares, is characterized by a very high level of empathy for her animals, it was said in justification.
Second place (1300 euros) went to the Brocken farmer Uwe Thielecke from Tanne (Harz district) and his organically certified suckler cow husbandry. Haldensleber Wiesenei Produktions GmbH came in third overall (500 euros each).
The country's animal welfare prize is said to be awarded every two years. This year the focus was on species- and behavior-appropriate livestock husbandry. Farms that keep cattle, pigs or poultry could take part in the competition. According to the information provided, a commission checked the applicant farms according to various criteria such as the husbandry, the exercise area, the behavior of the animals, the drinking troughs and the feed.
