HC Deb 18 November 1976 vol 919 cc1539-41
1. Mr. Hugh Jenkins

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in view of the fact that over 100,000 animals are used each year in various forms of research and experimentation, whether he is satisfied that the employment of animals on such a scale is justified; and if he will provide information on the types of animals used and the nature of the experiments and tests to which they are subjected.

Mr. Jenkins

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. Before the Question is answered, may I point out that an error has crept in. The figure of "over 100,000 animals" should be "over 5 million animals".

The Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Dr. Shirley Summerskill)

My right hon. Friend's responsiblity is for the administration of the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876, under which 5,379,084 experiments were per- formed last year. The available information about these experiments is published in annual returns made to Parliament. We intend to provide more information in these returns as soon as new reporting arrangements can be introduced.

Mr. Jenkins

Does not my hon. Friend remember that the Littlewood Committee, which reported 11 years ago, recommended that the 1876 legislation should be revised? Does she recall that Little-wood recommended that in the meantime there should be no tinkering? Is it not the case that in those 11 years there has been a lot of tinkering but no legislation? Therefore, will not my hon. Friend agree and accept that this large amount of experimentation on animals is totally unacceptable? [HON. MEMBERS: "Too long."] How many inspectors—

Mr. Speaker

Order. The hon. Gentleman will realise that he is setting a very bad example.

Mr. Jenkins

May I finish my sentence, Mr. Speaker? How many inspectors does my hon. Friend's Department employ to supervise these 5 million experiments?

Dr. Summerskill

The Cruelty to Animals Act is supervised by my right hon. Friend. It is constantly being reviewed. At the moment, the advisory committee is having its constitution and role re-examined. There are 14 inspectors who make approximately 5,000 visits a year. There is no reason to believe that the working of the Act is not satisfactory in supervising experiments carried out on animals.

Mr. Burden

The hon. Lady has stated that about 5,000 visits are made annually. Can more information be given about the information provided by these visits, and will the hon. Lady say whether any prosecutions have been mounted as a result of visits by the inspectors to any laboratory animals? If there have been such prosecutions, will the hon. Lady say when they took place?

Dr. Summerskill

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the latest annual report of the inspectorate entitled "Experiments on Living Animals". The last section of that report deals with the personnel in the inspectorate, the number of visits made and the irregularities brought to light by the inspectors.