
Since 1947 – ZZF – The German Pet Trade and Industry Association
As a professional and trade association, the ZZF has been promoting responsible pet ownership with their expertise and experience for more than 75 years.
The Voice of the German Pet Industry - our mission
Founded in 1947, the Zentralverband Zoologischer Fachbetriebe e.V. (ZZF) represents the professional, economic and socio-political interests of the German pet industry. The ZZF advises, informs and promotes its members in their specialist knowledge and concerns, provides support for professionalisation and offers an exchange of experience across association boundaries. One of the central tasks of the association is to promote qualified training and advanced education.

With every second German household now having at least one pet, ZZF has an ever-increasing responsibility. ZZF promotes the animal-friendly treatment of pets and showcases the positive effects of a joint living of humans and pets in accordance with animal welfare to the public, the media and politicians.
Together we are stronger - our members
The ZZF has received a significant increase of support and acceptance in recent years. The growing number of members is also an indication that the association's political and communicative work is being recognized and is becoming more and more important for the industry: The critical voices against pet ownership are getting louder, accompanied continuously by new plans to restrict it. The task of advocating positive aspects of pets and responsible pet ownership will even take on greater importance in the future.
Our members are:
- Pet store retailers
- Manufacturers of pet food, pet care and accessories
- Animal breeders and wholesalers
- Pet groomers

Committed to animal welfare - our guiding principles
In the ZZF's Guiding Principles (in German language), responsibility for the living animal and the welfare of pets are of primary importance. ZZF members are committed to providing qualified advice to pet owners and thus ensuring that animals are kept responsibly. They promote the preservation of species through priority breeding and take a stricter position on torture breeding than the German Animal Welfare Act.
The ZZF members have specified how the principles are to be practically applied in their Heidelberg Resolutions (in German language): These self-regulatory declarations are an addition to the ZZF's Guiding Principles and a mandatory requirement for membership in the ZZF specialist groups.
Since 2015, ZZF members have been organized in four specialist groups, each of which elects a chairperson and a vice chairperson. The specialist groups meet twice a year to improve networking between their members and to benefit from each other's expertise.
Leading Trade Fair for the Pet Industry - Interzoo
As initiator and now honorary sponsor of Interzoo, ZZF has played a major role in the success story of the world's leading trade fair for the pet industry. Through its subsidiary WZF, Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft Zoologischer Fachbetriebe (Pet Industry Services), the association has established Interzoo as an important platform which reflects the entire pet industry’s economic developments and covers its essential networking.
“Most important meeting place” - Interzoo 2024
Larger in size, more international, more comprehensive and more innovative than ever before: Interzoo can look back on four extremely successful days of the fair from 7 to 10 May 2024. Around 2,150 exhibitors from 68 countries presented the latest products and services for dogs, cats, fish, small mammals, terrarium animals and many other pets.
A total of around 37,000 trade visitors from 140 countries came to the Nuremberg Exhibition Centre - a 32 percent increase in visitor numbers compared to the previous event - to obtain information on the latest nutrition and grooming products, accessories and services for pets and experience innovations at first hand.

A Question of Being Heard - The European Pet Organization
The ZZF is a member of the European Pet Organization (EPO). Created in Vienna in April 1990, the EPO is the European organization protecting and promoting the interests of the European pet sector. Its members - national pet trade associations in Europe - collaborate in order to promote best practices among the industry and responsible pet ownership as well as to strengthen their position on European and other international issues.

The European Pet Organization
- is the only organization representing the interests of the entire pet sector at EU level in Europe
- cooperates with EU authorities and in working groups of the EU Commission
- currently consists of twelve associations

The “House of Pets” - our head office
Initially founded in Frankfurt am Main in 1947, the association moved into today's ZZF office in Wiesbaden exactly sixty years later. In the head office, affectionately known as the “House of Pets”, 20 full-time employees with diverse backgrounds and skills work to create a good framework for the pet industry.
The team implements numerous projects and services of the association and is available as an expert contact for questions relating to the pet market and pet ownership. The tasks are divided into six areas that are central to the ZZF: Members, Animals, Administration, Communication, Education and Training, Trade Fairs.
Political Contact Point in the Capital- our Berlin office
Since 2024, the ZZF has been represented by a branch office in addition to the Wiesbaden office: In Berlin, the association and its industry magazine zza - zoologischer zentral anzeiger moved into an office in the House of the Federal Press Conference. In the immediate vicinity of the German Bundestag, the ZZF is intensifying its proximity to political decision-makers, associations and the media. The location offers a contact point for discussion rounds, press conferences or meetings as well as for knowledge transfer and network expansion.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions

Antje Schreiber
Pressesprecherin / Bereichsleitung Kommunikation

Stefanie Klinge-Engelhardt
PR-Referentin