The following tables provide an overview of the species of animals, and their numbers, used for scientific purposes at Münster University from 2019 up to 2023. This is broken down into the total number of laboratory animals used for scientific purposes and the total number of animals killed for scientific purposes.
The figures shown comprise only data relating to vertebrates and include the species, and their numbers, of animals which were used in accordance with § 7, Section 2 of the German Animal Welfare Act, as well as the species and numbers of animals killed for scientific purposes in accordance with § 4, Section 3 of the same Act. The data come from the Faculty of Medicine (Faculty 5), the Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy (Faculty 12) and the Faculty of Biology (Faculty 13)
These include the species, and their numbers, of animals which were used as part of a project involving animal testing in accordance with § 7, Section 2 of the German Animal Welfare Act. The number includes all animals which were used as part of a notifiable project, or one requiring approval, which involved animal testing for scientific purposes. In the statutory report to be made annually on animal experimentation, the degree of suffering is recorded to which each individual animal was subjected through being used as part of a project involving animal testing. This degree of suffering can be “mild”, “moderate” or “severe” or, in the case of final experiments, be allocated to the category “No recovery of the vital functions”. The distinction between this and an animal being killed for scientific purposes in accordance with § 4, Section 3 of the Act is that interventions or treatments were undertaken before the animal was killed for scientific purposes.
Not all animals which were used as part of a project involving animal testing in accordance with § 7, Section 2 of the Act were killed at the end of the experiment.
These include the species, and the numbers, of animals which were killed for scientific purposes in accordance with § 4, Section 3 of the Animal Welfare Act. The numbers of animals killed for scientific purposes in Germany are recorded over and above the stipulations contained in EU Directive 2010/63/EU and include all animals which were killed without any interventions or treatments being carried out on them beforehand. This happens, for example, when organs or cell material need to be used for scientific purposes. In the cases of these animals, the degree of suffering is always indicated as “No recovery of the vital functions”.
| Species | Numbers under §7 | Numbers under §4 | Total number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mice (Mus musculus) | 19,889 | 15,425 | 35,314 |
| Rats (Rattus norvegicus) | 391 | 368 | 759 |
| Guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) | 102 | 0 | 102 |
| Pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus) | 16 | 0 | 16 |
| Sheep (Ovis aries) | 26 | 0 | 26 |
| Zebrafish (Danio rerio) | 7,582 | 0 | 7,582 |
| Other fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus/Three-spined stickleback) | 700 | 0 | 700 |
| Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) | 2 | 199 | 201 |
| Marmosets and tamarins (e.g. Callithrix jacchus) | 0 | 15 | 15 |
| Crab-eating macaque (Macaca fascicularis) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 28,708 | 16,007 | 44,715 |
| Species | Numbers under §7 | Numbers under §4 | Total number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mice (Mus musculus) | 19,655 | 11,547 | 31,202 |
| Rats (Rattus norvegicus) | 309 | 284 | 593 |
| Guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) | 155 | 0 | 155 |
| Pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus) | 19 | 0 | 19 |
| Sheep (Ovis aries) | 16 | 0 | 16 |
| Zebrafish (Danio rerio) | 9,540 | 0 | 9,540 |
| Other fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus/Three-spined stickleback) | 70 | 0 | 70 |
| Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) | 2 | 117 | 119 |
| Marmosets and tamarins (e.g. Callithrix jacchus) | 0 | 15 | 15 |
| Crab-eating macaque (Macaca fasciclaris) | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 29,767 | 11,963 | 41,730 |
| Species | Numbers under §7 | Numbers under §4 | Total number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mice (Mus musculus) | 15,939 | 14,186 | 30,125 |
| Rats (Rattus norvegicus) | 1,034 | 203 | 1,237 |
| Guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) | 39 | 0 | 39 |
| Pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus) | 17 | 0 | 14 |
| Sheep (Ovis aries) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zebrafish (Danio rerio) | 6,476 | 0 | 6,476 |
| Other fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus/Three-spined stickleback) | 36 | 0 | 36 |
| Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) | 2 | 107 | 109 |
| Marmosets and tamarins (e.g. Callithrix jacchus) | 0 | 11 | 11 |
| Crab-eating macaque (Macaca fasciclaris) | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Total | 23,547 | 14,507 | 38,054 |
| Species | Numbers under §7 | Numbers under §4 | Total number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mice (Mus musculus) | 13,223 | 32,573 | 45,796 |
| Rats (Rattus norvegicus) | 1,643 | 442 | 2,085 |
| Guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) | 37 | 0 | 37 |
| Pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus) | 43 | 0 | 43 |
| Sheep (Ovis aries) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zebrafish (Danio rerio) | 7,265 | 4,355 | 11,620 |
| Other fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus/Three-spined stickleback) | 55 | 0 | 55 |
| Other fish (Astyanax mexicanus/Blind cave tetra) | 42 | 0 | 42 |
| Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) | 0 | 120 | 120 |
| Marmosets and tamarins (e.g. Callithrix jacchus) | 0 | 36 | 36 |
| Crab-eating macaque (Macaca fasciclaris) | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Axolotl | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Total | 22,309 | 37,528 | 59,837 |
| Species | Numbers under §7 | Numbers under §4 | Total number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mice (Mus musculus) | 12,127 | 22,026 | 34,153 |
| Rats (Rattus norvegicus) | 1,038 | 801 | 1,839 |
| Guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) | 113 | 0 | 113 |
| Pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus) | 25 | 0 | 25 |
| Sheep (Ovis aries) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zebrafish (Danio rerio) | 3,616 | 501 | 4,117 |
| Other fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus/Three-spined stickleback) | 521 | 0 | 521 |
| Other fish (Astyanax mexicanus/Blind cave tetra) | 104 | 0 | 104 |
| Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) | 0 | 72 | 72 |
| Marmosets and tamarins (e.g. Callithrix jacchus) | 0 | 25 | 25 |
| Crab-eating macaque (Macaca fasciclaris) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 17,544 | 23,425 | 40,969 |
The graphics show the species of animals used for scientific purposes at Münster University from 2019 up to 2023. They show the contents of the above tables.
