§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions permission was given for the use of wild-caught primates for research purposes during 1998: and what was(a) the species of primate used, (b) the source country, (c) the number of primates used and (d) the research for which permission was given. [69282]
§ Mr. George HowarthDuring 1998, one project licence authorising the use of wild-caught non-human primates was granted. Under this licence, four wild-caught baboons, obtained from Kenya, were used in heart xenotransplantation research during 1998. Two further wild-caught rhesus macaques were used in neuroscience research under the authority of a licence granted before 1998. These were obtained before 1996. It was not possible to check their country of origin in the time available.