Animal welfare, animal welfare officer and committee
Animal welfare, animal welfare officer and committee
The German Animal Welfare Act stipulates that animal experiments may only be carried out if no alternative methods are available. The competent authority only approves an animal experiment application if the scientists fulfil the necessary requirements and can provide the relevant evidence. They must demonstrate that the research project cannot be carried out without animal testing and that the expected benefits of the experiment ethically justify the possible suffering of the animal. The University of Oldenburg only conducts animal experiments if all necessary official authorisations have been obtained.
Legal requirements
Animal welfare and research are both enshrined in the Basic Law. Freedom of research is one of the basic civil rights (Article 5 GG). Animal welfare was enshrined in the constitution as a state objective in 2002 (Article 20a GG). Various ordinances and laws regulate the treatment of animals in detail:
Accommodation standards
An important factor for the welfare of animals is their species-appropriate housing in modern animal facilities. The requirements for animal husbandry are specified for each animal species in the relevant European Directive (EU 2010/63) and are binding for legislation in the member states of the European Union. In addition, all animals are inspected daily by expert personnel with regard to their behaviour and health. If any deviations or illnesses are detected, the veterinarians are consulted for advice and treatment.
Regular appraisals and ethical framework guidelines
The scientific significance and the methods and procedures used in all the studies carried out have been assessed by the commission responsible for animal experiments in accordance with Section 15 of the German Animal Welfare Act (TierSchG ) and approved by the competent authority and fully comply with the requirements specified by EU Directive 2010/63, the German Animal Welfare Act and the German Animal Welfare Experiments Ordinance.
The facilities and laboratories at the University of Oldenburg are regularly inspected by the competent authority and the animal welfare officers. Compliance with all legal framework conditions is checked. The animals' state of health and husbandry conditions are assessed and evaluated, as is the completeness of the documentation of ongoing and completed animal research projects.
Animal welfare officer
According to the Animal Welfare Act, all institutions that carry out animal experiments on vertebrates are obliged to appoint an animal welfare officer. The animal welfare officers at the University of Oldenburg are veterinarians. They assist researchers and animal carers in the implementation of legal requirements. They support, advise and monitor the University of Oldenburg in all scientific and animal welfare-related matters. In order to be able to fulfil their tasks, animal welfare officers therefore work completely free of instructions.
The tasks and duties arise from §5 of the TierSchVerV and from §10 para. 2 TierSchG.
Animal Welfare Committee
The Animal Welfare Officers are supported in their work by the Animal Welfare Committee of the University of Oldenburg (in accordance with Section 6 (2) TierSchVersV). Its tasks include
- to participate in the definition of internal workflows concerning the implementation and evaluation of animal welfare monitoring and related follow-up measures and to check compliance with the workflows,
- monitor the development of animal experiments and their results, taking into account the impact on the animals used, and
- to act in an advisory capacity with regard to the development and implementation of programmes pursuant to Art. 10 para. 2.