Siemens Healthineers continues to rely on rabbit blood
- Press release
The nationwide organization Doctors Against Animal Experiments (DAAE) is launching a campaign today against the medical technology company Siemens Healthineers. The reason is the company’s ongoing use of rabbit blood for the production of antibodies, despite the fact that animal-free methods have been available for decades. Undercover investigations conducted in 2022 and 2025 also documented serious deficiencies at supplier facilities in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. DAAE is calling for a complete transition to animal-free antibody technologies.
In September 2025, the organization SOKO Tierschutz published footage from a rabbit breeding facility near Augsburg that serves as a supplier (1). Thousands of rabbits are kept there in cramped wire cages. The footage shows rough and violent handling by employees. The animals are repeatedly injected with antigens; in the end, they are killed by exsanguination. Back in July 2022, the organization Aninova documented poor conditions in a rabbit facility in Baden-Württemberg (2). At that time, Siemens Healthineers ended its cooperation with that facility but continues to source animal blood for its products. To date, there is no known termination of cooperation with the facility near Augsburg.
Siemens Healthineers’ blood laboratory in Marburg manufactures diagnostic tests based on animal-derived antibodies. These tests are used, for example, to measure thyroid levels, inflammatory markers, or the hormone cortisol. Each year, between 21,000 and 38,000 rabbits suffer in German laboratories, particularly in the federal states of Hesse and Bavaria (3).
“Technologies for the development and production of animal-free antibodies have been available for decades. Nevertheless, tens of thousands of rabbits lose their blood and their lives every year,” says Dr. Johanna Walter, scientific advisor at DAAE. “Companies like Siemens Healthineers are aware of these animal-free methods and have a responsibility to fully transition their processes accordingly. Diagnostics do not require rabbits,” adds the chemist.
Animal-free methods that have been available for decades include phage display technologies and cell culture-based techniques that enable the production of antibodies without animal suffering (4). These methods provide more precise and reproducible results. A database maintained by Animal-Free Research UK lists more than 78,000 antibodies and mimetics generated using such technologies (5). In addition, since 2020 the European Union Reference Laboratory (EURL ECVAM) has explicitly recommended avoiding the use of animals in antibody production (6).
According to Section 7a (2) No. 2 of the German Animal Welfare Act, animal experiments are only permissible if the intended purpose cannot be achieved by other methods or procedures (7). In the case of antibody production, such alternatives have been available for years. The suffering of rabbits is therefore not only unnecessary but avoidable.
DAAE calls on Siemens Healthineers to completely phase out animal-derived antibodies, to immediately terminate its cooperation with suppliers under criticism, to provide transparency regarding the current use of rabbit blood, and to present a concrete and binding timeline for converting all products to animal-free antibodies. Siemens Healthineers bears responsibility for all activities within its supply chain.
References
- Shocking discovery at a farm, Doctors Against Animal Experiments, 24.09.2025 >>
- Tierquälerei in Kaninchenzuchtanlage, Aninova, 11.07.2022 >>
- Verwendung von Versuchstieren im Berichtsjahr 2024, BfR >>
- Antibodies: The future is cruelty-free. Doctors Against Animal Experiments, 16.06.2022 >>
- Animal-Free Research UK: Recombinant Antibodies and Mimetics Database >>
- Barroso, J. et al. EURL ECVAM Recommendation on non-animal-derived antibodies; Publications office of the European Union, 2020
- German Animal Welfare Act, Section 7a