§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 4 June,Official Report, column 175, how many of the project licences issued under the Animal (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 to experiment on non-purpose-bred dogs in 1995 covered procedures classified as being of (a) mild, (b) moderate and (c) substantial severity; at what kind of establishments these procedures were carried out; what was the nature of the research; and if these dogs were obtained directly from individual owners who had kept them as pets. [9005]
§ Mr. George HowarthThe 66 non-purpose-bred dogs which were acquired from non-designated sources in the United Kingdom were used under four different project licences; three were of mild severity and one of moderate. In all cases, the work was carried out in veterinary schools.
A variety of breeds was used for studies relevant to the specific breed or type of dog involved. Two of the projects involved research into reproductive hormone levels in dogs. The third was a study of inherited diseases in dogs and the last was an animal welfare study to improve post-operative care of dogs undergoing clinical veterinary surgery.
The majority of procedures involved taking blood samples for subsequent analysis. The remainder involved administration of analgesia. In all cases, the owner's consent to use the dogs was obtained. The dogs were later certified as fit to be discharged from the controls of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 and were returned to their owners.