HC Deb 04 April 1978 vol 947 cc102-3W
Mr. Arthur Latham

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) for what purposes experiments are carried out on primates purchased by his Department;

(2) how many primates are imported by his Department for experiment annually; and from which countries;

(3) how many primates are used by the Department for experiments annually.

(4) what steps are taken to ascertain the origins of primates purchased by his Department for experiments;

(5) which laboratories are supplied by his Department with primates for experiments.

Mr. Moyle

My Department has recently, for the first time, purchased 200 primates, imported from Malaysia, to be used as breeding stock for the eventual supply of animals to the National Institute of Biological Standards and Control for the testing of polio vaccine.