§ Mr. Corbynasked the Secretary of State for Defence what tests of plastic bullets have been conducted on live animals; how many animals and of what kind were used; what was the purpose of the tests; and what was the fate of the animals.
§ Mr. LeeI assume the reference is to plastic baton rounds, as announced to the House in an answer on 21 January 1977, at column 331–32. Tests were carried out at the Chemical Defence Establishment, Porton Down, prior to the introduction into service of rubber and plastic baton rounds to ensure that the rules governing their use were such as to minimise the risk of injury. The tests involved relevant parts of the anatomy of live sheep. Since then certain studies involving pigs and sheep have been carried out at the Chemical Defence Establishment. This later work has been directed at gaining improved medical knowledge which is significant in civil as well as military contexts, and relevant results have been published. In both the earlier and more recent work all animals used were anaesthetised. Most were painlessly killed while under anaesthetic.