Königsweg 67
14163 Berlin
+49 30 838 61146
tierschutz@vetmed.fu-berlin.de
Heads of institutions, where experiments are conducted on vertebrates, shall appoint one or more animal welfare officers and notify each appointment to the competent authority. The notification shall also indicate the position and powers of the animal welfare officer. The institution must support the animal welfare officer in the performance of his tasks and inform him of every planned experiment so that he can carry out his duties without restriction. Only persons who have completed university studies in veterinary medicine and specialized in laboratory animal science may be appointed as animal welfare officers. The task of an animal welfare officer is to take care that each person subject to the regulations of the animal welfare act, to advice institutions and persons to implement the 3 R´s in laboratory animal science by using statistical methods in study design to reduce the number of laboratory animals as much as possible. Furthermore, animal welfare officer shall be obliged to ensure that the provisions, conditions and requirements shall be observed in the interest of animal welfare; to advise the institution and the staff involved in animal experiments and the keeping of laboratory animals; to give a statement on each application for authorization to conduct an experiment on animals and to work towards the development and introduction of procedures and means for avoiding or reducing experiments on animals inside the institutions. Overall, the officer ensures animal welfare within the institution.