The German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture has released a draft version of the proposed changes to the German Animal Welfare Act [LINK]. Some of these changes are likely to heavily impact the scientific research sector. Specifically, the new draft does not address the already existing legal uncertainty within German law on animals used for scientific purposes, which could make the situation worse in reality. The current act [LINK] states that no pain or harm (including killing) may be inflicted on animals without a ‘reasonable cause’, but it does not provide a definition of what a reasonable cause is. The new draft not only fails to provide such a definition, but also increases the penalties if animals are thought to have been killed without ‘reasonable cause’.
Further details on policy news and issues related with animal research in Europe can be found at www.eara.eu
