§ Mr. Nigel JonesTo ask the Prime Minister if he will establish a Royal Commission to review the effectiveness of and justification for animal experiments. [57875]
§ The Prime MinisterThe Government are committed to ensuring that animals are used in scientific procedures only where this is fully justified. Furthermore, we are working to ensure that the highest possible standards of animal welfare are implemented.
We have, for example, already announced:
that we are promoting the development and use of alternatives (which reduce the number of animals used, refine procedures to minimise suffering, and replace animal use) where possible—the budget made available to the Animal Procedures Committee to sponsor research on alternatives has been increased by 42 per cent. and scientists will now be required to demonstrate what consideration they have given to the use of alternatives;an end to the test of cosmetic products on animals;that we are exploring the possibility of extending this ban to cover cosmetic ingredients—in the meantime, no new licences to test cosmetic products or ingredients have been issued since May 1997;a ban on the use of animals to test tobacco or alcohol products;that further funding has been secured to increase the complement of the Inspectorate from 18 to 21, seven new inspectors recruited to fill these and other vacancies;that, through the European Commission, we are putting pressure on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to delete the LD50 test from its list of regulatory safety tests;that ethical review processes will be required in all establishments from April 1999;474Wa ban on the use of Great Apes (gorillas, chimpanzees, pygmy chimpanzees and orang-utans);that the use of ascitic animals in monoclonal antibody production will be phased out; andan increase to the number of animal welfare experts on the Animal Procedures Committee.We have not ruled out a Royal Commission. The Government believe, however, that it is best to use the available resources to make immediate improvements to the operation of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 until such time as we are able to make a considered judgment about the merits of such a proposal.