§ Mr. EtheringtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what factors are taken into account by the Chief Animals (Scientific Procedures) Inspector when making a cost/benefit assessment under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 before granting a licence to allow experiments on animals. [124789]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienSection 5(4) of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 requires that, in determining whether and on what terms to grant a project licence, the Secretary of State must weigh the likely adverse effects on the animals concerned against the benefit likely to accrue as a result of the programme specified on the application.
For the purposes of the cost/benefit assessment, the cost to the animal is considered as the adverse effects of pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm. The benefits must be for humans, animals or the environment and relate to the scientific and/or medical progress likely to result directly from the programme outlined in the application.
All members of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Inspectorate apply the cost/benefit assessment set out in detail in the Chief Inspector's paper, including in the Annual Report of the Animal Procedures Committee for 1997, Chapter 2, Annex 1.
§ Mr. EtheringtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance he has issued to the Chief Animals (Scientific Procedures) Inspector with regard to the safety testing for chemicals used in 391W household products, and the products themselves, where it is not claimed that a product will itself improve the health of man or animals or provide enhanced protection for the environment; and if he will make a statement. [124790]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienSection 5(3) of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 sets out the purposes for which a project licence shall be granted. If a programme of work does not satisfy one or more of those reasons, it will not be authorised.
National and international regulatory bodies require that products, ingredients and chemicals are tested to ensure that they are safe (for humans, animals and the environment) during manufacture, transport and use, thereby preventing ill-health or abnormality or their effects and providing protection of the natural environment. The product itself does not have to improve the health of man or animals or provide enhanced protection of the natural environment.
This country has taken, and continues to take, a leading role in Europe in encouraging the use of alternatives which replace animal use, reduce the number of animals used and refine the procedures to minimise pain and suffering.