§ Mr. ButlerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on recent trends in the number of animals used in LD50 tests.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggThe advisory committee on the administration of the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876 estimated in 1979 that the number of LD50 tests which were carried out in 1977 was about 229,500. The "Statistics on Scientific Procedures on Living Animals 1987" included for the first time statistical returns for these procedures, of which these were 111,313 in 1987 (Cm. 515; table 14).
The Government are supporting international work on acute toxicity testing and on further reducing the need for formal LD50 tests as part of their policy of encouraging international regulatory bodies which require such tests to review the continuing need for them.