§ Sir R. Russellasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made in establishing special breeding units outside laboratories for supplying dogs and cats used in experiments, and also in breeding them in registered laboratories, as mentioned in paragraph 528 of the Littlewood Report; when he plans to implement Recommendation 77 of that report; and if he will give his conclusions on Recommendation 78.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesThe proposals made by the committee in recommendations 77 and 78 are being kept under consideration together with the committee's other recommendations, but I am unable to say when it might be practicable to introduce legislation, which would be necessary to bring the supply of animals for research purposes under statutory control.
§ Sir R. Russellasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give a list of the establishments at which experiments on live animals took place 44W under the Cruelty to Animals Act, 1876, in the latest year for which details are available.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesA list of places registered under the Act, in August, 1964, for the performance of experiments on living animals was published as Appendix V to the Report of the Committee on Experiments on Animals. Since then a number of additional places have been registered, and others have been removed from the register. Registrations now number over 600; I am arranging for an up-to-date list to be sent to the hon. Member.
§ Sir R. Russellasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why there was an increase of more than 1½ million between 1957 and 1967 in the number of experiments on live animals under the Cruelty to Animals Act, 1876.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesThe Littlewood Committee concluded in 1965 that the increase in the numbers of animals used in research in recent years was largely to be explained by the expansion of biological science and the mandatory testing of biological substances and that the demand for using animals in research would continue to increase in the foreseeable future.
§ Sir R. Russellasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give a summary of the benefits which have resulted from the 4,755,680 experiments on live animals which took place in 1967 under the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876; and if he will now state the total number of experiments which took place in 1968 and the benefits resulting from them.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesMy right hon. Friend's concern is to ensure that, as required by the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876, experiments are carried out only if undertaken with a view to the advancement by new discovery of physiological knowledge or of knowledge which will be useful for saving or prolonging life or alleviating suffering. It is not my right hon. Friend's responsibility to assess what benefits may have resulted from such experiments. Details of the number of experiments performed in 1968 are not yet available.
§ Sir R. Russellasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he 45W will give the statistics for 1967 and 1968, corresponding to those given in Appendix VI of the Littlewood Report.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesStatistics for 1967 are given in the Return of Experiments on Living Animals which was presented to Parliament on 26th July, 1968 and published on 13th August. The figures for 1968 are not yet available.
§ Sir R. Russellasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of the 4,755,680 experiments on live animals in 1967 was on dogs, cats or equidae, stating the numbers in each category.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesIn 1967, 14,962 experiments were performed on dogs, 14,531 on cats and 471 on equidae; together these represent about 0.6 per cent. of the total number of experiments in the year.