§ Sir R. Russellasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what proportion of the time of the inspectorate set up under the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876 is spent on watching experiments on living animals;
(2) how the Inspectorate set up under the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876 apportions the time available for watching experiments as between the various kinds of animals used.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesHow inspectors apportion their time during visits to premises registered for experiments on 105W living animals is determined by the circumstances of each case. It is not possible to say what proportion is spent watching experiments in general or those on various kinds of animals in particular.
§ Sir R. Russellasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why the number of experiments without anaesthetics on dogs in 1968, licensed under the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876, was so much greater than on cats; and what was the nature of those experiments.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesThe purposes of experiments performed on dogs and cats vary considerably. But many consist of the screening of food additives or the testing of drugs intended for use by man; and dogs have been more frequently used in these experiments than cats because their physiology more closely resembles that of man.
§ Sir R. Russellasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in view of the fact that in 1876, when the annual number of experiments on living animals was 300, his predecessor appointed two inspectors under the Cruelty to Animals Act, why there are now only 10 inspectors to supervise more than 5 million experiments.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesArrangements have already been made to increase the number of inspectors to 12. The task of inspectors is not to supervise experiments, but to ensure that those licensed to perform them understand and comply with their responsibilities under the Cruelty to Animals Act. With the change in the nature of experimental work, the great bulk of which now consists of dietary tests or routine innoculations, no valid comparison can be made between the inspectorate's present strength and its strength in 1876.
§ Sir R. Russellasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the 588 horses, asses and mules used in 1968 in experiments licensed under the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876 were horses or mares; what types were used; what were the principal sources from which they were obtained; and where these experiments were carried out.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesThe annual returns submitted by persons licensed under the106W Act show the number of experiments performed on horses, asses and mules, but do not give separate figures for each species or show the source from which the animals are obtained. Some licensees are authorised to perform experiments in more than one registered place, but they are not required to distinguish in their annual return the number of experiments performed at each place. I regret therefore that the information asked for is not available.