§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the annual cost of maintaining his Department's mouse breeding facilities; and what steps are taken to ensure that no mice are bred which are surplus to requirements. [87859]
§ Mr. RookerThe annual running cost to maintain mouse breeding facilities at the two MAFF supported agencies is approximately £150,000 including staff costs.
All research projects which require mice follow a pre-planned experimental design which the agencies also clear with Home Office officials. This allows the number of each strain of mouse required by each project to be forecast in advance. By combining the requirements of each project, a breeding programme is devised which can be tailored to the research requirements.