Thousands of farmers protest across Germany

Thousands of farmers are protesting across Germany against stricter environmental and climate protection requirements planned by the government that they say are threatening their livelihood.

The German news agency dpa reported that about 4,000 farmers protested on Tuesday in the western city of Bonn, 500 in Hamburg and thousands more in various places in southern and northern Germany. The farmers blocked traffic with hundreds of tractors for hours.

Dpa reported that the farmers fear that planned regulations to better protect insects, wildlife and measures to keep the groundwater clean threaten the financial livelihood especially of traditional family farms. They also express frustration about a trend of so-called "farmer bashing" — negative remarks about farmers when it comes to livestock breeding or crops.