Animal Welfare Act - Main features
Version in the announcement of 25 May 1998 (BGBL. I [Federal Gazette] p. 1105)
The German Animal Welfare Act assigns responsibility to human beings for the animals in their care and provides that no-one may cause pain, suffering or harm to an animal without reasonable grounds. The Act bears in mind that humans and animals live together in a community and are dependent on each other. The Animal Welfare Act regulates the handling of animals in the private, agricultural and scientific spheres.
Structure of the Animal Welfare Act
The Animal Welfare Act is composed of various sections with the following headings:
¨ 1: Principle (§1)
¨ 2: Animal husbandry (§2, 2a and §3)
¨ 3: Killing animals (§4, 4a and 4b)
¨ 4: Invasive procedures in animals (§5, §6 and 6a)
¨ 5: Animal experiments (§7, §8, 8a, 8b, §9 and 9a)
¨ 6: Invasive procedures and treatments for the purposes of initial, further or continuing training (§10)
¨ 7: Invasive procedures and treatments for the production, recovery, storage or propagation of substances, products or organisms (§10a)
¨ 8: Breeding, animal husbandry, animal trade (§11, 11a 11b and 11c)
¨ 9: Ban on transport, marketing and husbandry (§12)
¨ 10: Other provisions concerning the protection of animals (§13 and 13a)
¨ 11: Enforcement of the Act (§14, §15, 15a, §16, 16a-i)
¨ 12: Criminal and civil penalty provisions (§17-§19, §20 and 20a)
¨ 13: Temporary and final provisions (§21, 21a, 21b and §22).
New version of the German Animal Welfare Act
The German Animal Welfare Act (TSchG) was extensively amended in 1986. For the transposition of EU legislation and for adaptation to the European Convention a further amendment was necessary at the end of the 1990s. The amended German Animal Welfare Act valid now came into force on 1 June 1998. The principle of the Act has not changed.
Changes in the new TSchG
Most of the changes in the TSchG have to do with sections 3-7; here are some examples:
- Vertebrates which are killed for scientific purposes are placed under the responsibility of the animal welfare officer (§ 4 para 3).
- Furthermore, an animal welfare officer is to be involved in future in any invasive procedures or treatment of vertebrates for the purposes of initial, further or continuing training (§10).
- When notifying the removal of organs or tissue, in addition to stating the reasons for the planned invasive procedure, detailed information about the persons involved is also required (§6).
- Serum recovery, anti-body production, propagation of parasites and the cultivation of tumours in vertebrates must be notified (§ 10 a).
- In future, changes in approved animal research projects will merely have to be notified to the competent authority as long as the purpose of the animal research project remains unchanged (§8). In § 8 para 5a of the Animal Welfare Act the tool of the "authorisation fiction" was introduced.
- The power to record data about the use of animals is extended to all scientific areas, i.e. the removal of organs and tissue and the killing of animals for scientific purposes will also be recorded.
The new experimental animal notification ordinance, on which this procedure is based, came into force on 1 January 2000.
Animal Welfare Act, full text available in German on the homepage of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture.
