German Centre for the Protection of Laboratory Animals (Bf3R)

The BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment performs the role of the "German Centre for the Protection of Laboratory Animals (Bf3R)" and coordinates all associated activities nationwide with the goal of:

• Reducing animal experiments to the necessary minimum
• Providing the best possible protection for laboratory animals.

Furthermore, national and international research activities and a scientific dialogue shall be encouraged by the work of the Centre.

Mission and goals of the German Centre for the Protection of Laboratory Animals (Bf3R)

• Intensifying research on alternative methods
• Advice to authorities and research institutions
• International harmonisation of alternative methods
• Research funding of alternative methods
• Provision of information to the public and experts

The activities of the German Centre for the Protection of Laboratory Animals are part of the Animal Welfare Initiative of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Regional Identity (BMLEH) entitled "Minding animals - new ways to improve animal welfare".

In 1959, British scientists William Russel and Rex Burch published the book External Link:“The Principles of Humane Experimental Technique” in which they defined  the 3R Principle, a framework for experimental scientific work.

The goal of the 3R Principle is to avoid animal experiments altogether (Replacement), to limit the number of animals (Reduction) and their suffering (Refinement) in tests to an absolute minimum.

The 3R Principle now provides a road map for laboratory animal protection policies of many countries.

With the External Link:European Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes, the internationally recognised 3R Principle was legally recognised for the first time in 2010. The provisions of the European directive and hence also the 3R Principle were implemented in German law in 2013 in the form of the amended External Link:Animal Protection Act and the External Link:Animal Protection Act for Test Animals.

In concrete terms this means that every scientist planning an animal experiment and applying for approval from the competent authorities must answer the following questions as part of the approval process:

• Are there methods or strategies not entailing the use of animals ?
• Is the number of used test animals reduced to an absolute minimum?
• Is animal suffering kept to the very lowest level possible?

The competent authorities of the federal states responsible for authorising animal experiments check whether these questions have been answered in accordance to the current state of knowledge.

The 3R Principle and its recognition pursue the final goal of replacing animal experiments completely, as soon as this is scientifically feasible.