Overview
- The Defence Ministry told lawmakers on June 17, 2026 that it expects projects that use or kill animals to increase through 2029 because research questions have grown more complex and the security environment has changed.
- The ministry refused to release requested figures for 2020–2025, calling those numbers a state security matter, and that decision has drawn sharp criticism from the Left party and animal‑welfare advocates.
- Officials say they will follow German animal‑protection law and the 3R rules to replace, reduce and refine tests and that no higher‑severity animal experiments are currently planned.
- Reporting notes the Bundeswehr uses mice, rats, pigs, guinea pigs, service dogs, donkeys and mules for medical training and first aid exercises, and earlier ministry data showed about 400 experimental animals in military facilities in 2019.
- Coverage also highlights inconsistent national totals for 2024 reported by different sources, cited as roughly 1.33 million in some outlets and about 1.9 million in others, which has raised broader questions about scale and oversight.