Animal Welfare Officer

According to the Animal Welfare Act, all institutions that carry out animal experiments on vertebrate animals are obliged to appoint an animal welfare officer. The animal welfare officers help staff to implement legal requirements. They also support, advise, and monitor the University of Hohenheim in all scientific and animal welfare issues.

In order to be able to carry out their tasks, animal welfare officers do not answer or take direction from anyone. The animal welfare officers are supported by the Animal Welfare Committee.

The animal welfare officer is responsible for animal experiments (vertebrates, cephalopods, decapods) at the University of Hohenheim. If you have any questions about wild animals (e.g. birds, dormice), please contact the veterinary offices and wild animal sanctuaries.

Rights of the Animal Welfare Officer

  • Access at any time to all places where animals are kept and all experimental laboratories as well as to all records and documents
  • Head of the experiment or assistants must inform the representative about planned experiments
  • Right to contact the institution’s responsible office directly, circumventing the typical official channels
  • Right to halt the experiment if violations of regulations, conditions, or requirements are violated until these are rectified
  • Right to be heard in the case of renovations or new construction of animal housing or when animal care staff members are hired
  • Participation in all inspections by the authorities
  • Right to resign

Obligations of the Animal Welfare Officer

  • Advising and monitoring the institution on questions of animal protection, animal breeding, and animal living conditions
  • Advising in planning and requesting experiments and submitting a position on the experiments
  • Obligation to give information to the authorities
  • Monitoring animal experiments including recording them
  • Informing all involved in animal experiments about animal protection issues
  • Promoting alternative methods to reduce animal experiments
  • Directing the Animal Welfare Committee

The rights and obligations of the Animal Welfare Officer at the University of Hohenheim are set down in the administrative instructions. Their tasks and rights arise from Sec. 10 of the Animal Protection Act and Sec. 5 of the Experimental Animal Protection Act as well as the recommendations of the “Gesellschaft für Versuchstierkunde” (GV-SOLAS) and the Veterinary Association for Animal Protection (TVT).

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