HC Deb 15 December 1992 vol 216 cc100-1W
Mr. Milburn

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action is to be taken on licensing irregularities in the animal procedure carried out in the current year at Hazelton UK in respect of its use of primates.

Mr. Charles Wardle

Two, unrelated, technical irregularities in blood sampling in rats and monkeys, discovered in March and May of 1992, were dealt with at the time by the inspector.

Mr. Milburn

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if his Department's inspectors responsible for sanctioning the conditions at Shamrock (GB) Ltd. and Hazelton United Kingdom retain responsibility for implementing improved conditions.

Mr. Charles Wardle

Yes.

Mr. Simon Hughes

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 2 December,Official Report, column 215, if he will make a statement on the quality of his Department's previous inspections at Shamrock (GB) Ltd. and Hazelton United Kingdom institutions.

Mr. Charles Wardle

Shamrock (GB) Ltd and Hazelton United Kingdom were inspected respectively four and nine times in 1991 and six and fourteen times in the period January to September 1992. It is difficult even for unannounced visits, however frequent, to detect the failures of care, handling and management which were revealed at Shamrock by the detailed investigation which was carried out following receipt of the allegations made by the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection. None the less, the incident shows that the system is able to respond quickly to such allegations, and to take tough and effective action where necessary.

I consider that the inspectors responsible for the two establishments acted conscientiously to ensure the well-being of the animals concerned. With hindsight, the programmes of cage replacement agreed at Shamrock and Hazelton seem over-generous and these have now been accelerated in the light of the findings of the investigation. Nevertheless, I am satisfied that the inspectors would have taken steps to require immediate improvements if it had ever become apparent that overt animal suffering was being caused by the caging in use.