§ Mr. Hugh Jenkinsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) 75W whether, as rats and guinea pigs were reported in Fire Note No. 1048 of 1976 to have been exposed to hydrogen chloride gas for 30 minutes, to have suffered gross damage to the eyes, noses and mouths and to have been kept for periods up to 24 hours before being killed, he is satisfied that no breach of the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876 was involved;
(2) whether, as experiments on rats and guinea pigs were reported in Fire Research Note 1048 of 1976 to have caused severe tissue damage and distress to the animals prior to their death, he is satisfied that no breach of the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876 was involved.
§ Dr. SummerskillFull details of these experiments are not immediately available. I will write to my hon. Friend.
§ Mr. Hugh Jenkinsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, having regard to the recent incident at Porton, he will seek powers which will enable him to impose a ban on the import of diseased laboratory animals into the United Kingdom
§ Dr. SummerskillI am not aware of any need for such powers.
§ Mr. Hugh Jenkinsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will now introduce the legislation recommended by the Littlewood Committee on experiments on living animals in 1965.
§ Dr. SummerskillI have nothing to add to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend's Question on 22nd November.—[Vol.919, c.923.]
§ Mr. Hugh Jenkinsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is taking arising from the paper submitted to him by Lord Platt, Lord Houghton and others on experiments on living animals.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesMy hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State met Lord Houghton and his colleagues in August. Arising out of that meeting Lord Houghton wrote again to my hon. Friend in September and October to provide clarification of his proposals. My hon. Friend will be sending detailed comments in reply in the course of a few days with a view to a further meeting.
76W