Animal Facility

International Laboratory Animal Day on 24 April: Our employees in the field of animal care talk about their profession and everyday life

Animal House Team

Diversity in the workplace is part of our everyday life. Not only is the scientific staff international, but many different nationalities and people with different professional qualifications work together in the animal house. They all share a great love of their profession and a love of animals.

Rita

Most zebrafish genes also occur in humans in a similar form. This makes them interesting for research. As fish can also feel pain, daily observation is just as important as with our rodents. As the fish are always moving when we look into the tank, this task is particularly challenging.

Carina

The welfare of our laboratory animals is very important to me. Responsibility, a sense of duty and compassion play a crucial role in this. As an animal carer, I have the opportunity to give the laboratory animals a pleasant and comfortable life and to work closely with our scientists on experiments. The results of our research save the lives of other people.

Martin

With our work in the animal house, we supported the scientists in their research. These results can be the starting point for the development of new therapeutic procedures.

Julia

I did my training here. What I like about my job is the responsibility for the health and well-being of the animals. I also enjoy working in a team with so many different nationalities.

Diana & Romina

We enjoy being animal carers and love the mice we look after with all our hearts.
We stand up for each other as a team and support each other. This brings fun to our everyday work.

Declaration of principle on animal research

In its declaration of principle on the subject of animal research, the Max Planck Society emphasises the indispensability of animal research for biomedical research, but also acknowledges the special responsibility of each individual scientist for the animals used in research and the ethical issues associated with experiments carried out on sentient beings. The gain in insight expected from an experiment must be weighed against the harm inflicted on animals – an evaluation for which there are no universally accepted standards.

In its White Paper, the Max Planck Society has adopted a series of measures designed to achieve the best possible compromise between the obligation to protect the animals used for research and the need to perform research with sentient beings in order to gain insights into the processes supporting the life of organisms. These measures include:

strengthening the culture of care for the animals; this is to be achieved through improved coordination of animal welfare within the MPG, while at the same time maintaining the highest quality of science
Further refinement and reduction of use animals in research - scientific insights should be used to reduce the number of experiments and minimize the potential harm inflicted on the animals
transparent presentation of animal research for the general public
research aimed at improving the implementation of the 3 R principle
research on the living conditions of research animals, their social behaviour, perception of pain, consciousness and their right for life
training of all employees working with animals in animal ethics