Tierschutzbeauftragte Bestellung

Each establishment needs one or more animal welfare officers if you:

• would like to carry out animal experiments on vertebrates or cephalopods.
• breed or keep vertebrates or cephalopods intended for use in animal studies.
• Vertebrates for scientific purposes.
• wish to carry out organ and tissue removal for purposes other than scientific purposes.

You must notify LAVES of the animal welfare officer before commencing work.

Duties of the animal welfare officer(s):

• Observance and compliance with regulations (Animal Welfare Act, Animal Welfare Laboratory Animal Ordinance), conditions and requirements
• Advising the establishment and the persons involved in the keeping of animals on the holding with regard to the welfare of the animals during the acquisition, housing, care and medical treatment

If animal experiments are also carried out on your farm or facility, the animal welfare officer is also obliged to:

• to give its opinion on applications for authorization of a test test and to submit that opinion to the competent authority on request.
• to work in-house towards the development and introduction of processes and means which:
  • the pain, suffering and harm to be inflicted,
  • the number of animals used,

to what is absolutely necessary.

• to work in-house towards the development and introduction of processes and means which:
  • examine whether the intended purpose of an animal experiment cannot be achieved by another method or procedure.
  • ensure that pain, suffering or harm to animals is inflicted only to the extent that is indispensable for the intended purpose; in particular, they must not be added for reasons of labour, time or cost savings.
  • ensure that animal testing is carried out only on animals whose species-specific ability to suffer from the effects of testing is less developed than is essential for the intended purpose.
• to advise the persons involved in the conduct of animal experiments with regard to the abovementioned applications, processes and means and to keep them informed of technical and scientific developments in this regard.

Your tasks as an institution or the company:

You have the animal welfare officer

• assist in the performance of his/her tasks in such a way that he/she can fully carry out his/her duties; and
• of all experimental projects.

They must ensure that the animal welfare officer regularly receives further training in the field of animal experiments (subject areas in accordance with Annex 1 Section 3 No. 1-15 TierSchVersV).

They must ensure that the animal welfare officer is free from instructions in the performance of the tasks and is not disadvantaged because of the performance of his/her tasks. The position and powers of the animal welfare officer shall be regulated by statute, internal instructions or in a similar form. Where more than one animal welfare officer is appointed, their responsibilities shall be defined.

• Proof of expertise / qualification
• Internal Instructions / Articles of Association
• Declaration of consent of the animal welfare officer to be appointed
• Form for reporting the animal welfare officer

• The animal welfare officer may not at the same time be the person responsible for the supervision of animal experiments or the breeding and keeping of animals according to § 11 paragraph 1 sentence 1 number 1 TerSchG (exceptions according to § 5 paragraph 3 sentence 2 TierSchV are possible if the necessary knowledge and skills are demonstrated).
• Only persons with a university degree in veterinary medicine can be reported as animal welfare officers (exceptions according to §5 paragraph 3 sentence 4 TierSchV are possible if the necessary knowledge and skills are proven)
• The animal welfare officer must have the knowledge and skills necessary for the tasks to be carried out
• The animal welfare officer must have the reliability required for the tasks to be carried out.

Advertisement Animal Welfare Officer: Fees: EUR 25 – 100

Authorisation of an exemption for the animal welfare officer: Fees: EUR 25 – 100

The documents you submit will be checked by LAVES for completeness and plausibility.

You must appoint an animal welfare officer in good time before commencing your activities.

If the animal welfare officer of your institution carries out an animal experiment himself, another animal welfare officer must be involved in this experiment.

An action may be brought against the decision within one month of notification. The action must be filed in writing with the competent administrative court, or for the record of the clerk of the registry of that court. The action may also be brought with a qualified electronic signature by means of transmission via the court's electronic court and administrative mailbox (EGVP).

• Facilities where animal experiments are carried out on vertebrate animals or cephalopods require an animal welfare officer
• The animal welfare officer must be reported to the State Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety

The responsibility lies in Lower Saxony with the Lower Saxony State Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety, Department 33 Animal Welfare Service.

• Form for reporting the animal welfare officer
• Proof of expertise / qualification
• Internal Instructions / Articles of Association
• From 2023, you will also be able to submit the ad online via the company portal
• Declaration of consent of the animal welfare officer to be appointed