HC Deb 09 July 1990 vol 176 c65W
Mr. Simon Hughes

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he plans to take to reduce the number of experiments conducted on animals; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

Applications for licences are considered individually on their merits. As figure 5 of the Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals, Great Britain 1988 (Cm. 743) shows, however, the number of experiments has fallen consistently for many years and this trend is continuing under the strict controls of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.