The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration has failed to carry out 1,500 animal welfare inspections.
Økologisk NuApproximately 1,500 follow-up animal welfare inspections from 2025 and the first half of 2026 have never been carried out. Additionally, there are follow-up inspections from previous years that have also not been performed. These should be conducted when a farm owner has been sanctioned for not complying with animal welfare regulations. This is shown by a review of the cases conducted by the Ministry of Justice, which has taken over responsibility for animal welfare inspections from the Ministry of Food and the Ministry for Green Tripartite. Therefore, it is not possible to meet the politically agreed control target of 20 percent in pig and cattle herds in 2026, which was otherwise set in the animal welfare agreement "Together for the Animals 2024-2027." "It is deeply, deeply shocking, but unfortunately not surprising, because we have pointed out problems with the inspections many times. It is clear that the previous government has had a very lax approach to follow-up inspections. The minimum requirements in the law are already unreasonably low, and even when they are violated, there is no guarantee that a follow-up inspection will occur. The inspections have been so neglected that, roughly speaking, there is nothing left of the minimal protection of the animals behind the barn walls," says Britta Riis, director of Animal Protection, in a press release. The ministry’s review should be seen in the context of the sharp criticism from the State Audit Office of the inspections back in April. Warning of an emergency plan Overall, there appears to be a picture of significant problems in the animal welfare control area, which have arisen over several years and will take time to correct, the ministry assesses. "It is clear that there have been problems with animal welfare in the barns and with the inspections for several years. This is also confirmed by the State Audit Office’s critical report from April. It is simply not good enough. Therefore, there will be a significant strengthening of the control to better protect the animals in the future," says Justice Minister Nicolai Wammen (S) in a press release. The government now announces an emergency plan to significantly strengthen the inspections, allocate more resources to it, and tighten sanctions against farm owners who break the law. Animal welfare inspections in the rest of 2026 will prioritize the outstanding follow-up inspections identified this year. The prioritization aims to follow up on the most current violations of animal welfare rules. As far as possible, there will also be follow-up on the most serious rule breaches and on companies with repeated problems complying with regulations. Britta Riis sees the announced emergency plan as a sign that the justice minister has understood the seriousness: "But I also cannot emphasize enough that it is very urgent to establish a completely different control system that primarily protects the animals. Not the industry."
Approximately 1,500 follow-up animal welfare inspections from 2025 and the first half of 2026 have never been carried out.
In addition, there are follow-up inspections from previous years that have also not been performed. These are supposed to be conducted when a farm owner has been sanctioned for not complying with animal welfare regulations.
This is shown by a review of the cases conducted by the Ministry of Justice, which has taken over responsibility for animal welfare inspections from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the Ministry for Green Tripartite.
For this reason, it is not possible to meet the politically agreed inspection rate of 20 percent in pig and cattle herds in 2026, which was otherwise set in the animal welfare agreement 'Together for the Animals 2024-2027'.
"It is deeply, deeply shocking, but unfortunately not surprising, because we have pointed out problems with the inspections many times. It is clear that the previous government has had a very lax approach to follow-up inspections. The minimum requirements in the law are already unreasonably low, and even when they are violated, there is no guarantee that a follow-up inspection will be carried out. The inspections have been so neglected that, roughly speaking, there is nothing left of the minimal protection of the animals behind the barn walls," says Britta Riis, director of Animal Protection, in a press release.
The ministry's review should be seen in connection with the sharp criticism from the State Auditor back in April.
Warns of an emergency plan
Overall, there is a picture emerging that there are major problems in the animal welfare control area, which have arisen over several years and will take time to correct, assesses the ministry.
"It is clear that there have been problems with animal welfare in the barns and with the control for several years. This is also confirmed by the Rigsrevisionen's critical report from April. It simply is not good enough. Therefore, there must be a significant strengthening of the control so that we better protect the animals in the future," says Justice Minister Nicolai Wammen (S) in a press release.
The government now announces an emergency plan, which will significantly strengthen the control, allocate more resources to it, and tighten sanctions against farm owners who break the law.
The animal welfare control will prioritize the outstanding follow-up inspections identified this year for the rest of 2026.
The prioritization aims to ensure follow-up on the most current violations of animal welfare rules. As far as possible, there will also be follow-up on the most serious rule breaches and on companies with repeated problems complying with the regulations.
Britta Riis sees the announced emergency plan as a sign that the justice minister has understood the seriousness:
"But I also cannot emphasize enough that it is very urgent to establish a completely different control system, primarily to protect the animals. Not the industry."