News

Michèle Dressel

Published: 01 February 2024

They are not experimented on anymore, but dogs are still not released from the university facilities 

"Life is neither an end nor a means; life is a right." This is a freely translated quote from Heinrich Heine, name giver of the Heinrich-Heine-University (HHU) in Düsseldorf. The university has chosen these lines as its "favourite Heine quote of 2022". And yet it does not act accordingly when it comes to the animals in the experimental facilities, as criticises the nationwide association Doctors Against Animal Experiments (DAAE). The organisation is calling for the 9 dogs, on which experiments are no longer carried out, to be released, and for a paradigm shift to animal-free research to be implemented.

Heinrich Heine University (HHU) is a stronghold for animal experiments in Germany (1). Experiments at HHU are carried out on various animal species such as mice, rats, rabbits, pigs, cats, and monkeys. According to the HHU, no experiments on dogs have been carried out since 2018 (2). Although they are no longer being experimented on, two 10-year-old beagle dogs and seven foxhounds are still being kept in the HHU facilities. DAAE is therefore calling for all remaining dogs to be placed in carefully selected, suitable homes immediately. So far, HHU has vehemently rejected any approach from competent organisations which have experience in placing dogs from laboratories in suitable hands.

"HHU asserts that it adheres to the legal requirements and that the dogs should not be removed from their familiar environment for their own good," says Dr Corina Gericke, Vice Chair of Doctors Against Animal Experiments. "But the experiments ended five years ago. The animals could therefore have been placed into suitable homes at a much younger age and with having spent 5 years less in the 'familiar environment'," she points out. Furthermore, complying with the law does not mean that the animals have a fulfilling life.

Releasing the dogs would not be enough for the scientific organisation, though. No other animals should be used for the experiments that are no longer carried out on dogs. Unfortunately, this is currently the case. The association also criticises the fact that animal-free research and teaching are severely neglected in Düsseldorf. "Although there are numerous animal-free methods that deliver human-relevant results in a faster, safer, and more cost-effective way than animal testing ever could, HHU continues to cling to the outdated system of animal testing," criticises Gericke. In the regular contact that the members of the DAAE working group in Düsseldorf have with HHU students on campus, they notice a great deal of open-mindedness towards modern, animal-free methods amongst them. However, this is not the case with many professors at the university, who traditionally cling to animal research and apparently know little about the possibilities of human-based technologies. DAAE is therefore calling for the establishment of a chair for animal-free technologies at the University of Düsseldorf. It is also legally possible for students in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia to be exempted from harmful animal use in higher education. "Many students don't know about this possibility, and we want to change that," emphasises Nadine Langen, an active member of the Düsseldorf working group.

The association’s declared goal is the abolition of all animal experiments. Consequently, they are also campaigning for an end to all animal experiments at HHU.

Refrences

1. Ärzte gegen Tierversuche: Tierversuche in Deutschland. 22.12.2023 >>
2. Semiha Ünlü. „Wir stellen uns hinter unsere Forscherinnen und Forscher“. Rheinische Post. 05.07.2023