Laboratory Experiments (Animals)

HC Deb 07 May 1982 vol 23 cc148-9W

Mr. Thomas Cox

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will take steps to ban the use of animals in alcohol research;

(2) how many animals are at present used for smoking experiments;

(3) if he will seek to ban the use of animals in smoking experiments.

Mr. Raison

The latest available information about the number of experiments into tobacco and its substitutes relates to experiments commenced in 1980 and was published in tables 2 and 11 of "Statistics of experiments on living animals: Great Britain 1980" Cmnd. 8301. It would not be right to deprive the public of the safeguards that experiments and research into the risks to health involved in smoking and the use of alcohol are designed to afford, and we do not propose to impose any general prohibition on such experiments, which must, however, comply with the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876.