§ Mr. Simon CoombsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what measures he is planning to reverse the decline in the annual rate of reduction of animal experiments since the Animal (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986;
(2) if he will consider setting a target of 10 per cent. for the average annual reduction in the number of live animals used in experiments.
§ Mrs. RumboldThe use of living animals in biomedical research has been declining for many years. Although the annual percentage rate of decline for 1990, at 3 per cent., was lower than that for 1989, at 5 per cent., these rates of decline are not strictly comparable due to changes in the method of counting animals with harmful genetic defects. This change had the effect of increasing the figures for 1990.
The way forward does not lie in setting arbitrary targets. The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 imposes strict controls on the use of living animals in research and requires each programme of work to be justified in advance. Provided the requirements of the Act are met, my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary will continue to grant project licences authorising particular programmes of work under section 5.
Encouraging progress continues to be made in developing and validating acceptable alternatives to the use of living animals in research. The Home Office has been funding research in this area since 1984 and established its own research scheme with the passing of the 1986 Act. However, reductions in the use of living animals in research depend heavily upon advances in science and it has to be recognised that the development of acceptable alternatives can be a slow process.