§ 38. Sir John Biggs-Davisonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, pending the publication of his White Paper on animal experiments, he will call for a suspension of the Draize eye irritancy test; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MellorNo. As I explained in my reply to a question from the hon. Member for Leyton (Mr. Cohen) on 1 April at column445, there is no non-sentient alternative at present to this necessary test.
§ Mr. Cohenasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will seek and publish in the Official Report information as to why there was a greater need for experiments on living animals in 1983 in household chemicals experiments; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MellorI do not think there is any special reason at present to make specific inquiries about the reasons for the increase in the number of experiments to test household chemicals in 1983. Although the increase in this category is in contrast with the generally downward trend in animal experiments in 1983, it is not out of line with fluctuations in the number of household chemicals tests over the previous six years. If the number of experiments to test household chemicals shows a significant increase in 1984, however, we will consider whether more detailed inquiries are justified.