If animals are killed without a reasonable reason, stricter penalties will apply in Germany in the future. Researchers fear they could soon find themselves in prison.
You can kill mosquitoes and catch flies with adhesive tape. But vertebrates should not be killed without a reasonable reason. It’s been that way for a long time Animal Welfare Act. However, the punishment for the senseless killing of animals will soon become significantly harsher. That looks a draft bill for the amendment to the Animal Protection Act which was drawn up in the house of Federal Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir (Greens). The protest against this is huge – and from the Ministry of Agriculture’s point of view it comes from an unexpected direction, namely from researchers.