§ Mr. Lomasasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many interviews take place between a Home Office inspector and a research worker before that person is granted a licence under the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876 to perform experiments on living animals; and how many such interviews took place in each year from 1970 to date.
§ Dr. SummerskillWhether to interview an applicant and, if so, how often is a matter for the discretion of the inspector, who takes account of such factors as the qualifications and experience of the applicant and the experiments proposed. No record is kept of the number of such interviews.
§ Mr. Lomasasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many horses, asses and mules had experiments performed on them during 1976; what type of experiments were made; where the fullest possible information about these experiments can be found; and if he will give the name of the appropriate publication.
§ Dr. SummerskillThe figure requested is given for Great Britain in "Experiments on Living Animals"—House of Commons Paper 1—published on 8th November 1977 and for Northern Ireland in the report of the inspector entitled "Cruelty to Animals Act 1876: Experiments on Living Animals". Copies of both documents are available in the Library.
Nearly all experiments on these animals are performed with a view to the advancement of physiological knowledge of these species or to the improvement of their health. Information about such experiments is to be found in journals such as The Veterinary Record, Research in Veterinary Science and The Equine Veterinary Journal.
§ Mr. Lomasasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many living animals were used in LD50 experi- 206W ments in each year from 1970 to 1976 or 1977.
§ Dr. SummerskillInformation about acute toxicity tests, including LD50 tests, is being collected for 1977 and will be published later in the year. I regret that this information is not available for earlier years.
§ Mr. Lomasasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what breeds of dogs were used for experimental purposes in British laboratories during 1976 and 1977 to the latest date; and if he will name the laboratories.
§ Dr. SummerskillI regret that information about breeds of dogs used is not available. The number of experiments using dogs during 1976 under the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876 was published for Great Britain in "Experiments on Living Animals"—House of Commons Paper 1—on 8th November 1977 and for Northern Ireland in the Report of the inspector entitled "Cruelty to Animals 1876: Experiments on living animals", copies of which are in the Library. Figures for 1977 will be published later in the year. It is not the practice to name individual laboratories.
§ Mr. Lomasasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many living experiments were used to test herbicides during 1976 and 1977 to the latest date.
§ Dr. SummerskillFigures for 1976 are not available. This information is being collected for 1977 and will be published later in the year.
§ Mr. Lomasasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many premises are registered under the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876; and how many separate units or departments there are where experiments on living animals were performed under the 1876 Act.
§ Dr. SummerskillThe number of premises registered in Great Britain at the end of 1976 was published in "Experiments on Living Animals"—House of Commons Paper 1—on 8th November 1977. The figures for 1977 will be published later this year. Some registered premises, such as universities, may comprise a number of separate units or 207W departments, but differences in organisation makes it impracticable to give a separate figure for these.