Federal Constitutional Court
The University of Bremen is suing against the restrictions on animal testing
The University of Bremen is suing against new restrictions on animal experiments. photo
© Sina Schuldt/dpa
From the university’s point of view, animals killed in teaching continue to be indispensable. She also sees academic freedom as threatened.
The University of Bremen prefers this in the dispute over animal testing Federal Constitutional Court. According to the university, the lawsuit is directed against parts of the new higher education law, with which the Bremen government severely restricts animal testing. “Buten un binnen” from Radio Bremen first reported.
The university criticizes the fact that it should refrain from using animals killed specifically for teaching. “The regulation goes beyond federal law,” said a spokeswoman for the university.
German animal protection law allows the killing of animals for research. The university is also complaining that it should form an external commission to assess the animal experiments and make recommendations. The university argues that this restricts academic freedom.
For years there has been controversy in Bremen, particularly about experiments on monkeys by brain researcher Andreas Kreiter. Most recently, he regularly withdrew water from macaques, fixed the animals in the so-called primate chair and carried out extensive head operations. The Senate had rejected the continuation of the controversial experiments at the university. Kreitner is defending himself against this before the Bremen administrative court.