§ MR. WEIR (Ross and Cromarty)To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has yet received the Report of the Committee appointed by the Royal College of Physicians to ascertain whether, in their judgment, experiments on living animals before classes are necessary for the education of medical students; and, if so, will he state the nature of the opinion expressed.
(Answer d by Mr. Secretary Akers Douglas.) I presume the hon. Member refers to the special consideration which the Royal College of Physicians, at my request, gave to the question whether experiments on living animals (under anœthetics) were necessary for the proper teaching of pharmacology. I have received the opinion of the College on this question, and it is to the effect that science can only be adequately taught with the aid of demonstrations which involve, in the case of physiology and pharmacology, experiments on living animals.