Background

The Research Centre Neurosensory Science of the University of Oldenburg was selected for the negative prize "Heart of Stone" of the association "Doctors Against Animal Experiments" in view of experiments on blackcaps. The University distances itself from the negative award and does not accept it.

After a brief preliminary remark and references to the Animal Welfare Act, we will comment on all the allegations made by "Doctors Against Animal Experiments".

Preliminary remark

The University of Oldenburg takes the debate on animal welfare and animal experiments very seriously. Nobody at the University treats animal experiments lightly.

The University minimises the number of animals used in teaching and research. For many years, we have adopted the so-called 3R principle as our guiding principle: the three Rs stand for replacing animal experiments with animal-free methods whenever possible, using as few animals as possible (reduce) and treating them as gently as possible (refine). Intensive research ensures that we can introduce more and more alternatives to animal testing.

Even if we already use animal-free methods whenever possible, we cannot completely dispense with animal testing for the time being according to the current state of science.

We are aware of the ethical issues associated with animal testing and are involved in the social dialogue on this topic.

Animal Welfare Act

The German Animal Welfare Act stipulates that animal experiments may only be carried out if no alternative methods can be used. The competent authority only authorises an animal experiment application if the scientist can provide evidence: He/she must prove that the research project cannot do without animal experiments and that the expected benefits of the experiment ethically justify the possible suffering of the animal. The University of Oldenburg has all the necessary official authorisations.

The accusation:

"The songbird research in Oldenburg is to be seen as pure curiosity research without any benefit."

Our response:

Our study makes an important contribution to understanding how migratory birds perceive the Earth's magnetic field and use it for orientation. The scientists found a completely new neural connection that most likely forms the beginning of a magnetic map processing pathway in the brain. This finding helps to understand how the magnetic map of migratory birds works.

This knowledge is of great importance for bird conservation: it can help to protect endangered and rare migratory bird species.

Example 1:
There have been and still are attempts worldwide to relocate migratory birds for their protection if their breeding, staging or wintering areas are threatened. The cause of the threat is often human influence. Such relocations are usually very difficult, as migratory birds quickly return to their usual areas thanks to their excellent orientation. Fully understanding how the birds navigate and find their way can effectively support relocation projects, the navigation systems can be "tricked".

Example 2:
Electrosmog has a negative impact on migratory birds: it disturbs their orientation because their magnetic compass no longer works. Our research has proven this. It is an important result of our navigation research for bird protection.

More at: www.presse.uni-oldenburg.de/mit/2014/173.html

Example 3:
Migratory birds normally learn to navigate in the first few months of their lives, later it is no longer possible - this is the common assumption. Our research has shown that even injured migratory birds raised indoors by humans can learn to navigate - they simply learn later. A significant result for the reintroduction of birds into the wild.

More at: www.presse.uni-oldenburg.de/mit/2015/358.html

Example 4:
There is increasing evidence that the magnetic compass of migratory birds - i.e. the ability to orientate themselves by the Earth's magnetic field - is based on a quantum chemical reaction in the eye. A certain light-sensitive protein recently discovered by researchers in Oldenburg is responsible for this. The hypothesis is that this mechanism makes the animals sensitive to environmental stimuli that are six orders of magnitude below the threshold that was previously considered perceptible.

More at: www.presse.uni-oldenburg.de/mit/2021/109.html

The accusation:

"The blackcaps are caught with so-called Japanese nets in the vicinity of the University of Oldenburg."

Our response:

That is correct. The blackcaps must be caught in the wild, as this is the only way for them to experience natural migration behaviour. Behavioural observations are not possible on bred animals.

The study required 12 blackcaps. Blackcaps are the fourth most common bird species in Germany[1]. They are so common that when an animal is caught, a conspecific that would otherwise have died due to the strong competition immediately takes over the territory and only then has a habitat. Trapping a few blackcaps for research purposes therefore has no impact on the natural population.

The wild birds are caught outside the breeding season using Japanese nets. This trapping method is particularly gentle and has been established worldwide for decades for ringing wild birds. The nets are placed in such a way that the specific bird species is caught and the possible capture of other birds is minimised. Birds that are caught unintentionally are ringed and released unharmed immediately afterwards. The japanned nets are checked every 15 to 45 minutes by a qualified person known to the authorities. At the end of the day, the nets are rolled up and securely locked up.

At the university, only qualified employees who hold a so-called "ringing licence", for example, are entrusted with the capture and removal of birds from the wild.

Every capture, removal and possession of wild birds is expressly authorised by the relevant authorities and complies in every respect with legal requirements. The University of Oldenburg has all the necessary official authorisations from the Lower Saxony State Agency for Water Management, Coastal Defence and Nature Conservation (NLWKN) and the Lower Saxony State Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety (LAVES).

The accusation:

"In order to inject the animals with a so-called tracer substance, the head of the anaesthetised birds is fixed in a specially made apparatus. After opening the scalp, the neuronal tracer, a labelling substance that marks nerves, is administered through a small window in the skull by injection into certain regions of the brain. The hole in the skull is glued with surgical glue and the skin is sutured shut. After the operation, the animals are allowed to recover for 3-6 days."

Our response:

We understand that this description sounds threatening. It is important to know that the animals are completely anaesthetised when the substance is injected. There are also no pain receptors in the brain, so birds, monkeys or even humans cannot feel pain there.

The substance is completely harmless to the birds. Only the skin suture can cause local pain; this is alleviated with a local anaesthetic. As a rule, the birds regain consciousness and full mobility after just a few minutes.

The accusation:

"For the actual experiments, individual birds are housed in a round Perspex cage in a special building."

Our response:

The birds are appropriately restrained before, during and after the experiment[2] in aviaries or individual cages.

For the experimental period, during which the birds receive magnetic field stimuli at the strength of the Earth's normal magnetic field, they are kept in a non-magnetic building.

The accusation:

"For the actual experiments, individual birds are exposed to different magnetic stimuli."

Our response:

The magnetic field stimuli the animals receive are no stronger than twice the magnetic field strength of the earth. Birds, humans and all other living beings are constantly exposed to these stimuli (double the magnetic field strength occurs inside buildings, for example).

For comparison: In magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) - an imaging procedure recognised in veterinary and human medicine for visualising tissue structures inside the body - patients are exposed to magnetic fields that are more than a thousand times stronger than the magnetic fields that birds experience as stimuli.

The accusation:

"At certain times, the animals are killed by injecting formalin into the heart under anaesthesia until all the blood has been replaced. The brain is cut into slices and examined."

Our answer:

It is correct that the birds are professionally euthanised with an overdose of anaesthetic - in the same way as is usual in veterinary medicine. Tissue fixation only takes place after death.

The accusation:

"The university has been publicly criticised for years for its distressing experiments on wild-caught robins and other birds."

Our response:

The studies on birds carried out at the University of Oldenburg consist primarily of behavioural observations. One of the scientific and ethical principles of our scientists is that as few birds as possible are killed for research purposes.

Series of experiments in which animals are killed are only carried out if statistically verifiable results with small samples can be expected. Researchers deliberately forego scientifically promising experiments if the number of animals required is too high.

Our scientists invest a lot of time and effort in finding new ways to reduce the number of animal experiments and killings. For example, a protein found in the eyes of birds was recently produced in large quantities in the laboratory for the first time using bacterial cultures. Its pronounced sensitivity to magnetic fields has now been proven and published in the renowned scientific journal Nature(www.presse.uni-oldenburg.de/mit/2021/109.html).