§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the(a) transgenic pigs and (b) monkeys killed in the last four years died at Huntingdon Life Sciences; and if he will make a statement. [121506]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienSection 24 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 prevents me from disclosing detailed information of this nature about an individual establishment licensed under the Act. We are examining Section 24 in the context of Freedom of Information changes.
§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many animals broken down by species were allowed into the United Kingdom for use in experiments for each year from 1990 to date; and if he will make a statement. [121507]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe Home Office does not record centrally the number of animals used in scientific procedures broken down according to their source.
Since 1995, Table 2 of the Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals, published annually in separate volumes for Great Britain and Northern Ireland, has reported the number of scientific procedures carried out using species listed in Schedule 2 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 analysed according to the source of the animals used. Similar statistics were not collected and published before 1995.
The numbers of scientific procedures carried out in Great Britain and Northern Ireland using Schedule 2 species acquired direct from sources outside the United Kingdom in each year from 1995 to 1998 were as follows.
435W
Species of animal 1995 1996 1997 1998 Mouse 8,624 11,285 13,361 15,943 Rat 9,348 10,849 3,499 2,740 Guinea Pig 16 0 0 793 Hamster 1,744 141 218 1,596 Rabbit 4 42 0 30 Cat 0 0 0 0 Dog 941 977 100 80 Primate 1,156 741 361 395 Quail (Cotumix cotumix) 0 0 0 0 Total 21,833 24,035 17,539 21,577 Statistics for 1999 are currently being collected and are due to be published in July 2000.