In addition to appointing at least one Animal Welfare Officer, all facilities and establishments in which laboratory animals are bred and kept, killed for scientific purposes or animal experiments are carried out must appoint an animal welfare committee (Section 10 TierSchG in conjunction with Sections 5 and 6 TierSchVersV). The Animal Welfare Committee includes members from the ranks of animal care staff as well as scientific staff involved in animal experiments. The Animal Welfare Committee has the task of supporting the animal welfare officers in the fulfilment of their duties. In addition, the Animal Welfare Committee defines internal work processes and measures relating to the implementation and evaluation of animal welfare monitoring and related follow-up measures, and monitors compliance with these defined measures. Another important task of the members of the Animal Welfare Committee is to monitor the development of animal experiments and their results, taking into account the effects on the animals used, on the basis of recent publications and practical experience and to make suggestions for improvements in this regard. In addition to the Animal Welfare Officers, the Animal Welfare Committee also advises the people involved with animals at the institution on new developments to improve the welfare of laboratory animals in breeding and husbandry, in experiments and in the killing of animals.
