The University of Bremen is taking the matter to the Federal Constitutional Court in a dispute over animal testing. 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. First, “buten un binnen” from Radio Bremen 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.
