ÖHTV presents new board

The Austrian Pet Food Association (ÖHTV) elected a new board at its annual general meeting. This resulted in a change at the top: after eight years, Hermann Habe, managing director and co-owner of Pro Pet Austria, handed over the presidency to Bernd Berghofer, managing director of Austria Pet Food and former managing director of the ÖHTV.

In his closing statement, Hermann Habe looked back on his eight years in office. He said he was particularly pleased with the growth of the ÖHTV, the acquisition of new members and the association's strengthened role as a competent point of contact for authorities, stakeholders and the media. Targeted press activities – such as the survey of the pet population in Austria – had significantly increased the visibility of the industry.

The new president, Bernd Berghofer, thanked the members for their unanimous trust and praised Hermann Habe's commitment to the industry, in which he has been active since 1982. Berghofer's goal is to further expand the ÖHTV as a strong voice for Austrian pet food companies – vis-à-vis authorities, the European umbrella organisation FEDIAF and the general public.

A key decision of the General Assembly is a cooperation agreement with the German Pet Food Industry Association (IVH). This is intended to strengthen international networking and enable coordinated representation of interests for companies in Austria and Germany.

The ÖHTV is also planning to conduct another survey of the pet population in Austria in 2026, again in collaboration with pet shops. In addition, for the first time, the survey will collect data on how much money Austrian households spend on dogs and cats each year.