Description
The Deutscher Tierschutzbund is the umbrella organisation of animal welfare associations and animal shelters in Germany. At the end of 2023 it had 785 local member associations in 16 regional federations, running 556 shelters and with more than 800,000 members between them.
Founded in 1881 and re-founded in its present form in 1948, it is a registered association based in Bonn, with 205 staff in 2023. It lives on donations and legacies, about €20.6 million in 2023, receives no state funding and carries the transparency seal of the Deutscher Spendenrat. It also runs FINDEFIX, a free register for lost pets, and awards the farm-animal welfare label “Für Mehr Tierschutz”.
Its website has a finder for member shelters and associations near any address, and explains how adoption works: a questionnaire, several visits, a contract and a protection fee that each shelter sets. Each year it documents the illegal pet trade; in 2024 it counted 224 cases involving at least 991 animals, 515 of them dogs, most often from Romania.
Strengths
- A search covering more than 1,200 member shelters, associations and sanctuaries across Germany.
- Plain explanations of how adoption works, from the first visit to the contract.
- Free registration of pets with FINDEFIX, which helps find lost animals.
Weaknesses
- Each shelter sets its own rules and protection fee.
- The website is mostly in German.
Who it is for
People in Germany thinking of taking in a dog, a cat or a small animal, who would rather adopt from a shelter than buy online.
Sources
- Deutscher Tierschutzbund: Home, Finanzen, Tierheim-Finder, Fragen zu Tierheimen, New figures show illegal puppy trade continues unabated (April 2025), checked November 2026
- Wikipedia: Deutscher Tierschutzbund