Hearing in the Petitions Committee

Doctors Against Animal Experiments (DAAE) and PETA Germany submitted a petition to the German Parliament calling for an end to animal experiments on non-human primates in Germany. Over 40,000 people signed the petition within six weeks. Thank you!

Thanks to the numerous signatures, the hearing in the Petitions Committee took place on 1 December 2025. Dr Melanie Seiler, primatologist and CEO for public relations at DAAE, and Sabrina Engel, biotechnologist and specialist advisor at PETA Germany, presented the demands and answered questions from the parliamentary groups.

Consultations are now taking place. We will of course keep you up to date!

Our demands

Every year, more than 1,600 monkeys are used in experiments in Germany, many of them in particularly severe procedures such as toxicity tests, organ transplants, or invasive brain surgeries. During years in captivity, the monkeys are poisoned, suffer drill holes in their skulls, and are being restrained and kept thirsty.

The German government must:

• Take the necessary steps to end experiments on monkeys in Germany and for a corresponding adjustment in EU law.
• Establish the official threat status of monkey species for international trade based on the IUCN Red List.
• Impose a total ban on experiments involving great apes in Germany.
• Increase public funding for animal-free methods and projects by at least 10 percent each year.

More information and the full petition text can be found on PETA’s campaign page >> 

40,000 signatures in six weeks

A petition to the Bundestag (German Parliament) must collect at least 30,000 signatures within six weeks. If this number is reached, the Parliament's Petitions Committee MUST address the issue – a powerful tool for attracting political attention and bringing about change.

Thanks to you, we have achieved this! By 20 October 2025, we had collected over 40,000 signatures!

Many thanks to all who have supported the petition!

Initiated by

Supported by