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BfR
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Annual Report 2015
32
Opening of the German Centre for
the Protection of Laboratory Animals (Bf3R)
The German Centre for the Protection of Laboratory
Animals (Bf3R) was opened at the end of Septem-
ber 2015 by Christian Schmidt, Federal Minister of
Food and Agriculture. Attached to the BfR, the centre
coordinates activities to protect laboratory animals
and lower their number in Germany to an absolute
minimum. These tasks and the research funding of
alternative methods to experiments with animals were
presented at the opening.
During the opening, the Animal Welfare Research
Prize put up by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agri-
culture was awarded to Professor Dr. Marcel Leist and
his research group at the University of Konstanz. They
were awarded the prize for developing a model on
the basis of cell cultures which can be used instead
of animal experiments when conducting research on
neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and
Parkinson's.
You will find more information on the German Centre for
the Protection of Laboratory Animals (Bf3R) on p. 84.
For the second time, the BfR had a stand at World Children's
Day at Potsdamer Platz. Under the motto “Diversity instead of
monotony – safe through variety”, visitors were able to gather
information on topics such as pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA) in
teas. PA are plant ingredients which have proven to be carci-
nogenic in tests with animals. BfR staff members explained
how to prevent possible damage through health hazardous
substances by maintaining a varied diet. Children were en-
couraged to paint pictures of what they had eaten in the last
few days. In this playful way, the kids and their parents were
able to get acquainted with the BfR's KiESEL study, in which
the eating habits of children aged from six months up to and
including five years are being examined.
BfR at World Children's Day Festival
at Potsdamer Platz in Berlin
20 September 2015
25 September 2015
At World Children's Day, our little visitors were encouraged to
paint pictures of what they had eaten in the last few days.