§ Mr. Townsendasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if any of the 14 inspectors under the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876, have previously been licensed to perform experiments on living animals.
§ Dr. SummerskillYes—nine.
§ Mr. Townsendasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the 576W 583 registered premises under the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876, are visited by the 14 Home Office inspectors every month, and, if not, how often they are visited.
§ Dr. SummerskillSome are visited monthly and the rest at other intervals which may be more or less frequent. The frequency of visits depends on considerations such as the size of the premises, the number of licensees there and the type and scale of experimental work undertaken.
§ Mr. Townsendasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the 18,666 persons licensed to perform experiments on living animals under the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876 are employed by the Government.
§ Dr. SummerskillThis information is not recorded.
§ Mrs. Bainasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many experiments were performed on living animals in Scotland during 1976 and 1977 to the latest available date;
(2) how many registered premises under the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876 there are in Scotland; and which one of these premises performed the most experiments on living animals during 1976 and 1977 to the latest available date;
(3) how many inspectors there are in Scotland to supervise the registered premises under the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876.
§ Dr. SummerskillThe latest available figures are for 1976. At the end of 1976, there were 71 places in Scotland registered under the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876 and 303,340 experiments on living animals were performed in them during that year. It is not our practice to give information about experiments performed at individual premises. There are two inspectors of the Cruelty to Animals Inspectorate in Scotland.