Tierschutzbeauftragter: Bestellung melden

Do you carry out animal experiments in your institution or company, or keep or breed laboratory animals? Then you, as the person responsible, must appoint an animal welfare officer and notify the competent authority.

Are you the owner of a facility or do you work as the person responsible for a facility where animal experiments are carried out or where laboratory animals are kept or bred?

Then you must appoint an animal welfare officer and a deputy and notify the competent authority before commencing your activities.

The animal welfare officer or deputy must have the necessary expertise and reliability.

You must regulate the position and powers of this person in your facility or company by means of statutes, internal instructions or in a similar form.

As the person responsible, you must, for example, ensure in an instruction that the animal welfare officer is not subject to instructions in the performance of his or her duties. The person must also not be disadvantaged because of the performance of their duties.

Before commencing the activities listed below, the owner of the establishment or the person responsible for the establishment must appoint one or more animal welfare officers and notify the competent authority of the appointment:

• Vertebrates or cephalopods are bred, kept or used that are intended to be used in animal experiments.
• vertebrates or cephalopods are bred, kept or used whose organs or tissues are intended to be used for scientific purposes.
• Vertebrates are killed in order to use their organs or tissues for scientific purposes.
• Complete or partial organs or tissues are removed from living vertebrates in order to transplant the organs or tissues for purposes other than scientific purposes, to create cultures or to examine isolated organs, tissues or cells.

In accordance with Section 10 TierSchG, there is an obligation to appoint one or more animal welfare officers for an establishment/company if:

• vertebrates or cephalopods are kept or used for animal experiments or for killing for scientific purposes
• animals are bred or kept for such experimental purposes in order to pass them on to third parties for such purposes
• vertebrates are killed for scientific purposes or organs or tissues are removed from them for scientific purposes.

The appointment must be notified to the competent authority.

The animal welfare officer is not subject to instructions and may not be disadvantaged in the performance of his duties; he must ensure compliance with the regulations, conditions and requirements in the interests of animal welfare. In addition, the animal welfare officer is to advise the facilities and persons involved in animal experiments and comment on laboratory animal projects.

§ Section 5 para. 2 TierSchVersV generally prohibits the animal welfare officer from also being the owner of the animal facility within the meaning of Section 11 para. 1 no. 1 TierSchG. However, the authority may allow exceptions.

• Written notification (main application)
• University degree certificate of the appointed person in veterinary medicine (if available) (copy)
• Proof of the required knowledge and skills of this person in the field of laboratory animals (copy)
• internal instruction or articles of association as proof of the position and powers of the appointed person (copy)

• written notification (informal letter)
• Documents proving that the appointed person fulfills the requirements (university degree, acquisition of relevant knowledge and skills in the field of laboratory animals)
• Information on the position (freedom from instructions) and powers of the animal welfare officer

Note: A copy in the original language and a copy of a German translation are required for documents in foreign languages. Translations must be prepared by a publicly appointed or sworn interpreter or translator.

The notification must be accompanied by documents showing that the requirements have been met and details of the position and powers of the animal welfare officer.

Institution:

• You must appoint an animal welfare officer if your institution breeds, keeps or uses laboratory animals.

Animal welfare officer:

• An animal welfare officer or a deputy must have the knowledge and skills required for this task and be reliable:
  • University degree in veterinary medicine
  • if the person is not a veterinarian, you as the person responsible for the facility can apply for an exemption with appropriate justification
  • For an exemption permit, you must provide evidence of the required knowledge and skills of the animal welfare officer to be appointed.
• Animal welfare officers are obliged to keep their knowledge and skills up to date with the latest scientific and technical developments through regular further training.
• Animal welfare officers may not simultaneously be responsible for the keeping or breeding of laboratory animals at the facility or establishment.
• If they carry out animal experiments themselves, another animal welfare officer must be responsible for these experiments.

Personal requirements

The animal welfare officer

• is not subject to instructions in the performance of their duties,
• has a degree in veterinary medicine (exceptions may be permitted in individual cases),
• is not simultaneously responsible for the keeping or breeding of animals in the facility (exceptions may be permitted in individual cases),
• has the knowledge and skills required to carry out the tasks,
• has the necessary reliability and
• must not simultaneously be responsible for animal experiments that he/she carries out himself/herself.

Mandatory tasks

The animal welfare officer is obliged to

• to ensure compliance with regulations, conditions and requirements in the interests of animal welfare,
• to advise the institution or establishment and the persons involved in keeping the animals, in particular with regard to the welfare of the animals during acquisition, housing and care and with regard to their medical treatment,
• to comment on any application for approval of an experimental project,
• to work internally towards compliance with, promotion and continuous optimization of the implementation of the 3R principles (Refinement, Replacement, Reduction) and to advise the persons involved in the performance of animal experiments in this regard and
• to keep abreast of technical and scientific developments in his/her area of responsibility through regular further training and to pass on his/her findings on an ongoing basis to those involved in carrying out animal experiments
• have a degree in veterinary medicine (the competent authority may allow exceptions)
• have the knowledge and skills required to carry out the tasks and the necessary reliability.

Fees may be charged in accordance with the respective cost or fee schedule. Detailed information on this can be obtained from the competent authority.

Appointment

Determine the persons to be appointed as animal welfare officers before commencing the relevant activities.

• The position and powers of the animal welfare officer must be regulated by statutes, internal instructions or in a similar form.
• If several animal welfare officers are appointed, their areas of responsibility must be defined.

Notification

As the person authorized to represent the facility, inform the higher animal welfare authority in writing and informally of the persons appointed as animal welfare officers.

Submit the signed notification together with the required documents by post to the competent authority.

approx. 1 month

You must submit the notification to the competent authority before commencing animal welfare-related activities.

There are no time limits, but animal experiments may only be carried out if an animal welfare officer has been appointed.

There are no indications or special features.

• Contradiction

• Appointment of an animal welfare officer
• Establishments or facilities in which laboratory animals are kept, used or bred must appoint an animal welfare officer and a deputy.
• As the owner of the facility or the person responsible for a facility, you must notify the competent authority of the appointed animal welfare officer.
• The person appointed as animal welfare officer ensures compliance with regulations, conditions and requirements in the interests of animal welfare and advises the facility or business accordingly.
• Responsible: usually the veterinary offices of the federal states

• Notification of the appointment of animal welfare officers
• Advice on compliance with regulations, conditions and requirements in the interests of animal welfare
• Every institution that uses, keeps or breeds vertebrates or cephalopods for experimental purposes or in which vertebrates are killed for scientific purposes or organs and tissues are removed for scientific purposes must appoint a person as an animal welfare officer.
• The task of the animal welfare officer is in particular to ensure compliance with the regulations, conditions and requirements in the interests of animal welfare. In addition, the animal welfare officer is to advise the facilities and persons involved in animal experiments.

The competent authority in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is the State Office for Agriculture, Food Safety and Fisheries (LALLF)

Forms available: No
Written form required: Yes
Informal application possible: Yes
Personal appearance necessary: No
Online services available: No