Despite Germany’s progressive constitutional and statutory commitments to animal protection, the effective enforcement of animal welfare norms remains limited by persistent structural deficits. This Article examines the legal and institutional barriers impeding judicial enforcement, with particular attention to restrictive standing doctrines—most notably the protective norm theory—and systemic disincentives within administrative practice. Drawing on comparative insights from environmental law, including association standing and rights of nature frameworks, the Article explores procedural innovations and institutional reforms that may enhance access to justice in the field of animal protection. It further assesses the potential of strategic litigation to expose systemic failures. Strategic litigation may prompt legal and political change, particularly where normative commitments remain unmet. The Article concludes by outlining reform pathways and situating the German experience within broader debates on access to justice and the evolving role of courts in advancing the legal protection of nonhuman interests.
