§ Mr. Hooleyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps 312W are taken by the Inspectorate to ensure that irrelevant or repetitive experiments on live animals are kept to a minimum.
§ Dr. SummerskillThe Cruelty to Animals Act 1876 does not permit experiments on living animals unless they are performed with a view to new discovery which may advance physiological knowledge or knowledge useful for saving or prolonging life or alleviating suffering. Inspectors ensure that the provisions of the Act are observed by regular inspections of experiments, discussions with licensees and scrutiny of proposals for research.
§ Mr. Hooleyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce a code of practice requiring all establishments, registered for the purpose of experimentation on live animals, to reduce the number of such experiments progressively by five per cent. per annum over a trial period of three years, with a view to stimulating the development of new and additional non-animal based research techniques.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesNo. I have no power under the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876, or any other legislation, to impose such a requirement.
§ Mr. Hooleyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken to reduce the number of experiments on living animals for testing medicines and commercial products.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesI have no power to require such a reduction. However, licensees under the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876 are to be urged to use alternative methods wherever possible. I have also asked the advisory committee on the administration of the Act to examine the LD50 test and to consider its scientific necessity and justification.