§ Mr. FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much public money was spent in the latest year for which figures are available on experimentation involving animals. [83498]
§ Mr. George HowarthEach year, the Home Office makes available to the Animal Procedures Committee a budget to sponsor work aimed at developing or promoting the use of alternatives (which replace animal use, reduce the number of animals used in particular procedures or refine the protocols involved to minimise suffering). Work aimed at improving the environmental conditions in which laboratory animals are kept and transported is also sponsored.
In developing replacement alternatives, animals do sometimes have to be used to produce comparative data that can be used to assess and validate the alternative. Reduction and refinement alternatives will still use animals, but will use fewer animals or cause less suffering to those animals.
Of a total budget of £259,000 for 1998–99, £63,000 was allocated to programmes that involve the use of animals. In each case, the aim of the work was the development of reduction, refinement or replacement alternatives.
We do not have information on the public money spent on animal experimentation by other Government Departments.