HL Deb 19 July 2001 vol 626 cc144-5WA
Lord Davies of Coity

asked Her Majesty's Government:

When they will publish the figures relating to scientific procedures performed on living animals in Great Britain in 2000, licensed under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. [HL504]

Lord Rooker

The information requested will be published in full as a Command Paper on 26 July 2001. The Command Paper will contain a great deal of detailed statistical data. I can meanwhile report the following key facts:

  • the number of procedures started in 2000 was just over 2.71 million, an increase of 58,000 (2.2 per cent) on 1999.
  • 66 per cent were for fundamental biological research and applied human and veterinary medicine, and 17 per cent for toxicological/safety testing (mostly for pharmaceutical evaluation purposes).
  • 82 per cent of the procedures involved use of rats, mice, and other rodents, and fish and birds were used in 14 per cent of the remainder.
  • dogs, cats, horses and non-human primates, accorded special protection under the 1986 Act, were collectively used in less than 1 per cent of the procedures.
  • the number of procedures involving the use of genetically modified animals, mostly mice, rose by 70,000 (14 per cent) to 582,000 in 2000.
  • the total number of animals used for the first time in 2000 was 2.64 million, an increase of almost 74,000 (2.9 per cent) on 1999.