[The ethical minimum of animal protection--one of the effects of the German national objective "Ethical Animal Protection" on the legislature].

In 2002 the current legal concept for animal protection "Ethischer Tierschutz" (ethics based animal protection) was declared a national objective in the Federal Republic of Germany. One of the aims laid down in the bill is to assure an ethical minimum (ethisches Mindestmass). An updating of and 7 Section 3 and and 17 No. 2b of the German Animal Welfare Act in compliance with the constitution and EU legislation could abolish the legal exception (regarding animal experiments) to the ban on inflicting "longer periods or repeated actions of severe pain or suffering". In this way an overall limit for causing severe harm to animals in any type of use, which is strongly demanded on the part of ethics, would be established, and this would equal an ethical minimum.