German towns drop cat protection ordinance and horse tax proposals

The Karlsruhe‑Land municipal council narrowly rejected a cat‑protection ordinance proposed by the SPD faction. The draft would have introduced mandatory neutering, identification and registration for free‑roaming cats to reduce stray populations and relieve overburdened animal‑welfare groups. The motion failed by a slim margin, leaving the issue unresolved.

In Reutlingen, the city administration withdrew a plan to levy a horse tax after calculating that the expected revenue would not offset the administrative costs. The proposal, which would have taxed owners of the town’s roughly 430 horses similarly to dog owners, was deemed financially unviable and was set aside pending further discussion.

Both councils chose to maintain the existing situation, avoiding new animal‑related taxes or regulations.