Animal Welfare Officer: Appointment

Before commencing the following activities, the institution responsible for the establishment or the person responsible for the holding must appoint one or more animal welfare officers and notify the competent authority of the appointment...

Before commencing the following activities, the institution responsible for the establishment or the person responsible for the holding shall appoint one or more animal welfare officers and notify the competent authority of the appointment:

• Vertebrates or cephalopods intended to be used in animal experiments are bred or kept; (Note: Which interventions or treatments fall under "animal experiments" results from § 7 paragraph 2 of the Animal Welfare Act);
• Vertebrates or cephalopods are bred or kept, the organs or tissues of which are intended to be used for scientific purposes;
• vertebrates are killed in order to use their organs or tissues for scientific purposes;
• Organs or tissues are taken wholly or partially from live vertebrates for the purpose of transplanting organs or tissues, creating cultures or examining isolated organs, tissues or cells for purposes other than scientific purposes.

Responsibility lies with the regional councils of Darmstadt, Giessen and Kassel.

Documents must be enclosed in German as proof of fulfilment of the requirements, such as:

• proof of university degree,
• proof of the acquisition of appropriate knowledge and skills in the field of laboratory animals,
• proof of reliability,

Information on the position (freedom of instruction) and powers of the animal welfare officers as well as their areas of responsibility, including the internal instructions governing them or similar.

The form for notification is available from the responsible regional councils.

Animal welfare officers are exempt from instructions in the performance of their duties.

You must meet the following requirements:

1. You have a university degree in veterinary medicine.
2. They must possess the knowledge and skills required to perform the tasks.
3. They must have the reliability required for this.
4. They may not at the same time be responsible for animal experiments which they carry out themselves.
5. They are not responsible for keeping or breeding the animals in the facility at the same time.

With regard to point I, the competent authority may grant exceptions in individual cases if the knowledge and skills required under point II have been demonstrated.

With regard to point V, the competent authority may grant exceptions in individual cases, provided that this is appropriate on the basis of the material and personnel resources of the institution or establishment and does not conflict with animal welfare concerns.

Animal welfare officers are obliged to perform the following tasks:

• They must ensure compliance with regulations, conditions and requirements in the interest of animal welfare.
• They shall advise the establishment or establishment and the persons concerned with the keeping of the animals, in particular as regards the welfare of the animals during acquisition, accommodation and care and on their medical treatment.
• They shall give their opinion on any application for authorization of a test project and shall submit that opinion to the competent authority on request.
• They must work internally to comply, promote and continuously optimise the implementation of the 3R principles (Refinement, Replacement, Reduction) and advise the persons involved in carrying out animal experiments in this regard.
• They must maintain the knowledge and skills required for their tasks through regular further training at the cutting edge of science and technology.
• They shall advise persons involved in the conduct of animal experiments on the application of 3Rs methods and keep them informed of technical and scientific developments in these fields.

The institution shall regulate the status and powers of the animal welfare officers by statute, internal instructions or in a similar form. Where more than one animal welfare officer is appointed, the body shall define its areas of responsibility.

In addition, the institution shall:

• to assist animal welfare officers in the performance of their tasks in such a way that they can fully carry out their tasks;
• to inform the animal welfare officers of all experimental projects,
• ensure that animal welfare officers receive regular training,
• ensure that animal welfare officers can present their suggestions or concerns directly to the relevant body in the establishment or establishment; and
• ensure that they are not disadvantaged because of the performance of their tasks.

The notification of the appointment of an animal welfare officer must be made in writing, signed and by post to the competent authority.

Notification and official recognition as an animal welfare officer are required before the described activities of the institution commence.

approx. 1 month

It is possible to charge fees according to the respective cost or fee schedule. In Hesse, detailed information can be obtained from the regional councils responsible for animal experiments.

Fee free of charge