Federal Agriculture Minister Julia Klöckner (CDU) urges a ban on long animal transports to countries outside the EU.
Together with the Netherlands and Luxembourg, she wants to bring a proposal to a meeting of EU agriculture ministers this Monday.
The focus is primarily on Morocco, Turkey, Russia, the Middle East and Asia.
"Animal protection must not stop at the EU borders," said Klöckner.
In the case of transports to countries further away, it cannot be absolutely guaranteed that animal welfare requirements will be observed.
Rules should apply across the EU
That is why they are now calling on the EU Commission to work out EU-wide rules to ban long animal transports to third countries by road and by ship.
In addition, the Commission must ensure short-term improvements pending a ban.
Transports to countries outside the EU have been the subject of criticism for a long time.
In Germany, several federal states have issued restrictions or bans.
At the meeting of ministers in Luxembourg, other topics related to animal welfare are on the agenda. Among other things, it concerns better control of fisheries, restrictions on chemicals that are harmful to bees in agriculture and the possible abolition of fur farming in Europe.