§ Lieut. - Commander KENWORTHYasked the Secretary of State for War whether experiments to ascertain the effects of poison gas on animals are still being conducted at the chemical warfare experimental station on Salisbury Plain; whether horses are used for this purpose; and, if so, how many horses have been experimented upon to date?
§ Mr. SHAWI would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the answers on this matter which I gave on 3rd November, of which I am sending him a copy.
§ Mr. FREEMANasked the Secretary of State for War whether all experiments on horses that have been carried out at Porton and Cambridge have only been undertaken with the object of benefiting horses; and, if so, will he consider the desirability of adopting the same procedure in the case of dogs and other animals used for military purposes?
§ Mr. SHAWNo experiments have been carried out on horses at Cambridge, and those at Porton have been with the sole object of devising protective and curative treatment for these animals. I am advised that to limit the experiments to those classes of animals which may be expected to derive benefit therefrom would mean the curtailment of many experiments undertaken with a view to the prevention and alleviation of human suffering. Dogs are not used for experimental purposes.