The use of vertebrates or cephalopods in animal experiments or for certain other scientific purposes is statistically recorded each year throughout Germany. The legal basis for collecting this data is the Regulations on Reporting Experimental Animals (Versuchtstiermeldeverordnung).
At the end of experiments, every animal used must be reported. For experiments with a running time of more than two calendar years, the animals’ data is to be reported in the year in which they were killed or died or were no longer used in the experiment.
All experiment directors who were responsible for animal experiments requiring notification or approval or for killing animals in the reporting year are required to submit reports.
Those who use the animals are required to report, via the Animal Welfare Officer, certain information by 31 March of the following year to the government agency responsible for them. The information includes the species, origin, and number of vertebrates used and the purpose and type of use. The responsible authorities in the states forward the information to the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture. The federal ministry then compiles the data from the states, reports according to the EU legal regulations to the European Commission, and publishes the data.
The Regional Councils of Stuttgart and Tübingen are responsible for collecting reports on experimental animals from the University of Hohenheim.
