Database on Animal Experiments

Link to the database on animal experiments >>

What is the purpose of the database?

Although animal experiments are widely funded by taxpayers’ money, the broad public has no access to information on what is really happening in animal research. With our internet database we aim to reveal what animal experiments in German laboratories are really like and to initiate a public discussion on the subject. Our database supplies the media, politicians, as well as animal rights advocates and the general public with verifiable documentation on animal experiments. The database facilitates concrete proof of who is involved in which animal experiments and where in Germany.

A view into a hidden world

Despite contrary claims from industry and academia, animal research in Germany is largely shrouded in secrecy. Animal experiments carried out at universities, Max Planck Institutes, and numerous other institutions are often published in English-language scientific journals or as doctoral theses. These publications are scarcely accessible to the interested layperson or are largely incomprehensible due to the specialized terminology used.

By providing access to a world which is purposefully hidden from the public, our database gives people the opportunity to make up their own minds. The uncommented and plain descriptions of the database speak for themselves.

Downplaying of animal experiments

Animal researchers often claim that animal experiments are not harmful and that anti-vivisectionists exaggerate their extent. But the reality is different - disturbingly different. The assertions that animals are anaesthetised, and that pain is eliminated or minimised also downplay reality. Most of the animal experiments available to us as publications are conducted on conscious animals. This means that while animals are anaesthetised for initial surgeries, the remainder of the experiment, especially in prolonged trials, involves significant pain, suffering, and distress for the animals after they wake up from anaesthesia. The degree of stress on the animals varies across experiments, and indeed, there are many cases where animals do not wake up from the lethal anaesthesia. Nevertheless, the research system we document in our database is characterised by cruelty and a lack of compassion towards animals that are hard to surpass.

We make animal experiments public

We, Doctors Against Animal Experiments, consider it our responsibility to make animal research in Germany transparent for the interested public. Through online literature searches, we compile animal experimental studies conducted by German scientists and published in international scientific journals. Our experts then summarise the papers in layman-friendly German, focusing on the description of what the animals have to endure.

However, we do not comment or evaluate the publications from a scientific perspective or from an ethical-moral standpoint. Interested readers can make up their own minds on the animal research system. The database encompasses only a very small fraction of the actual animal experiments conducted in Germany.

The database

The database contains descriptions of several thousand animal procedures conducted in Germany over recent years. For studies published in scientific journals, titles (in both English and German), authors (lead author marked with *), authors' affiliations, type and number of animals used, experiment descriptions, scientific field, and background are provided. The database's search functions allow queries based on location, institution, authors, year, animal species, and scientific disciplines.

Where are the hotspots of animal experimentation?

You can find a map of Germany and an analysis of the database entries here (in German only) >>

Animal research laboratories in Germany

From the data collected in this database, we have compiled an address list of institutions. Not all of these facilities necessarily conduct animal experiments, but employees of the listed establishments have been significantly involved in animal experiments at some point. The list contains institutional addresses only, not private ones. You can access the address list here (in German only) >>