HC Deb 12 March 1953 vol 512 c148W
89. Mr. Peter Freeman

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department the total number of animals subjected to experiments by vivisection since the records were first kept; and of these how many were horses, dogs and cats, separately.

Sir D. Maxwell Fyfe

Records are not kept of the number of animals used, but the total number of experiments for the years 1885 to 1951 inclusive is 26,511,783, including 7,570 experiments on horses, asses and mules, and 113,422 experiments on cats and dogs. The figures for horses, asses, mules, cats and dogs do not include experiments where the animal was killed while still under anaesthesia since separate records were not kept before 1949; nor do they include certain experiments on cats and dogs in 1940 and 1941 since the records were destroyed by enemy action.