§ Mr. Corbettasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many licences under the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876 were issued for experiments involving living animals at contract research organisations in 1976, 1977 and 1978; what numbers of which species were involved; and what were the items tested.
§ Dr. SummerskillThe information requested cannot readily be extracted from the records, but in 1976 339 and in 1977 378 licensees performed experiments at the 10 registered places most readily identifiable as being places at which commercial contract research is carried out. In 1977 the experiments performed at those places totalled by species:
Mouse 50,940 Rat 121,606 Guinea Pig 13,835 Other Rodent 3,117 Rabbit 46,578 Primate 2,645 Cat 79 Dog 2,662 Horse, Donkey or Crossbred 2 Bird 15,691 Fish 8,640 Other Vertebrate 713 Total 266,508
§ Mr. Corbettasked the Secretary or State for the Home Department how many proposals or applications for experiments on living animals conducted under the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876 were referred to the advisory committee on the administration of that Act in each of the years from 1974.
§ Dr. SummerskillHitherto the committee has been required to advise only on proposals presenting new questions of principle. The number of proposals referred to the committee in the years in question was as follows:
1974 2 1975 6 1976 2 1977 3 1978 2 No cases have yet been referred to the committee this year.
The committee will be reconstituted with wider terms of reference as a standing committee of the new council for animal welfare.