This week, against a background of heated debate, the German minister of agriculture approved a federal ban on hot iron branding of horses.

If the proposal passes the parliamentary vote as expected in fall 2012, German horse breeders will no longer be allowed to brand their horses with a hot iron, according to Mareike Enderle, spokesperson for the German Ministry of Food, Agriculture, and Consumer Protection (BMELV).

The issue has met with strong opposition from major German Warmblood breed associations–in particular the Holsteiner, Trakehner, and Hanoverian breeds–since it was originally proposed in October 2010. Last month, an animal welfare organization added fuel to the fire at a Hanoverian elite foal show and sale, displaying large posters of a woman with a Hanoverian brand burn on her bare back .

Despite recent research indicating that hot iron branding is no more stressful for horses than microchipping, German Minister of Agriculture Ilse Aigner wants to see branding forbidden in order to protect equine welfare, according to Enderle. "Scientific experts do not agree about the effects of branding on horses, and we are still talking about a third-degree burn which is very painful," she said. "We hope the bill passes the vote