A professor from the University of Bonn is no longer allowed to perform controversial parabiosis experiments in which two living mice are surgically joined at the torso and legs so that their circulatory systems are connected. The Cologne Administrative Court upheld an existing ban on Wednesday, rejecting the professor’s appeal against the prohibition. The court concluded that the method places extreme stress on the animals and breaches Germany's animal welfare law.
In these experiments, the two mice remain joined for eight weeks before being separated and dissected. The research had been intended to study the development of a malaria vaccine. The researcher argued that the procedures would only moderately burden the animals. However, the court found the mice's level of distress to be extreme and argued that the professor failed to present documentation to justify such suffering.
The regional authority for consumer protection and food safety had initially approved the experiments but later withdrew authorisation because the project violated animal welfare legislation. The professor challenged this decision in court but lost the case. An appeal against the latest ruling remains possible.
