First anti-vivisection monument in Germany


What seems to be the first monument in Germany against the use of animals in invasive experiments (animal experimentation, vivisection) was put up - under the cloak of night - in Hamburg, northern Germany.

Despite the unofficial circumstances of its installment, the monument still stands, and city officials have agreed to grant permission for the monument to remain until the end of 2022. This is Hamburg, a more cosmopolitan and open-minded part of Germany, as you can see here.

The monument is located in Hamburg's north, in the "borough" of Uhlenhorst, next to one of Hamburg's rivers (the Alster), and the statue was erected in the night between 12 and 13 October 2021

The statue is a nod to the famous animal statue in the northern German town of Bremen, the "Town Musicians of Bremen", based on the Grimm's faitytale of the same name, depicting a donkey, dog, cat, and cockerel standing one atop the other.
Similarly, the "Hamburg Town Musicians" as the anti-animal-experimentation statue in Hamburg is called consists of a beagle dog, a macaque monkey, a rabbit, and a rat.  

The monument has an inscription in German, English, and Chinese. It says: "Gewidmet allen Opfern der Tierversuche weltweit." And in English: "Dedicated to all victims of animal experimentation worldwide." (This is an exact translation of the German text.) And in traditional Chinese: "獻給全世界動物實驗的所有受害者。" (This, again, is a literal translation of the German text.) 

Even though the monument was originally installed without permission, city officials assessed whether it was safe, i.e. that it does not have any sharp edges and that it cannot easily fall over (and injure people), and determined that the monument was no safety hazard.

In their announcement from January 2022, city officials stated that the monument will be allowed to remain until December 2022 and that the lively interest in the monument justified this decision. The monument was removed on 21 December 2022 ... However, city officials have announced that the monument will, in the future, be displayed in other parts of Hamburg.

In March 2023, animal rights organization Soko Tierschutz revealed that the monument had been installed by members of their organization.

You can see photos of the monument on its Wikipedia page.

Also check out this animal rights and anti-vivisection monument that was installed, with official permission, in Erlangen, southern Germany, in April 2023.