Treatment of vertebrates according to Section 4 of the Animal Welfare Act]

Relating to Section 4 of the Animal Protection Act "Operations on animals", general principles and arguments of the animal protection law are demonstrated; questions about painfulness and necessity of operations on vertebrates are discussed considering the recent states of knowledge and practice. Problems mainly relate to the sensation of pain in juvenile animals during operations without anaesthesia, and to castration and amputation (tails, horns, beaks, combs/wattles, teeth) as well as to destruction or removal of tissues (notching or perforation of ears) in various animal species. Finally, it is recommended to question the indispensability of operations both continuously and more frequently, and to anaesthetize young animals for specified operations despite the legal possibility to dispense from anaesthesia.