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Laboratory Animal Reporting
The use of animals for scientific purposes is the subject of an annual statistically record. The legal basis for reporting is the Laboratory Animal Reporting Ordinance (VersTierMeldV).
Anyone who conducts animal experiments or kills animals for scientific studies must report the use of animals to their competent authority within the federal states by March 31 of the following year (Article 1 Paragraph 1 in conjunction with Paragraph 2 VersTierMeldV). Various details such as the type, origin and number of animals used as well as the purpose and type of use must be disclosed. In addition, the actual degree of severity according to Article 15 Paragraph 1 of Directive 2010/63/EU must be specified in each case of use (Article 1 Paragraph 1 VersTierMeldV).
The current report (year 2020) for the use of animals for scientific purposes can be found here.
The competent authorities of the federal states send the annual reports to the BfR by June 30 of the following year (Article 16c No. 2 TierSchG in conjunction with Article 2 VersTierMeldV). The BfR consolidates the data from all federal states and reports them to the European Commission in accordance with EU legal requirements (Article 54 Paragraph 2 of Directive 2010/63/EU).
In addition, according to Article 2 Implementing Decision (EU) 2020/569 of Directive 2010/63/EU, further data is collected and transferred to the European Commission. The next five-year report to the European Commission is due in 2023 and will include data for the year 2022.
The European Commission has developed Excel spreadsheets to support users and competent authorities in reporting the data. The BfR has translated these tables and adapted them to special requirements on the national level.
The following table is provided for the 2021 reporting year for the reporting of animals that have been used in accordance with Article 7 Paragraph 2 TierSchG:
The following table is provided for the 2021 reporting year for the reporting of animals that were either killed in accordance with Article 4 Paragraph 3 TierSchG or bred and killed without being used in animal experiments or for scientific purposes:
Tables for the 2022 reporting year will be published here at a later date.
Use of the Excel files provided is not obligatory. According to Article 1 Paragraph 2 VersTierMeldV, it is only specified that the reports must be submitted in electronic form and include the content based on the template in the annex. In the case of data transfer in accordance with Article 2 VersTierMeldV, the competent authority can agree on a different type of data transfer in consultation with the BfR. The competent authority can also agree on another type of data transfer with the reporting party.
