§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the procedures conducted on animals and the training facilities used by his Department for(a) experimental research and (b) training programmes in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [138919]
§ Dr. Moonie[holding answer 21 November 2000]: DERA's Chemical and Biological Defence Sector (CBD) carries out a number of research programmes involving the use of animals that are aimed at providing the armed forces with safe and effective protection against combat related trauma and the chemical and biological agent threat. During 1999, a total of 11,501 procedures, defined as licensed techniques under the terms of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, were reported to the Home Office from CBD Porton Down. These procedures were carried out on mice, rats, rabbits, guinea-pigs, hamsters, marmosets, pigs, and Rhesus monkeys.
Additionally, DERA's Centre for Human Sciences (CHS) carried out 149 procedures on goats during 1999 as part of its on going submarine escape programme.
All work at DERA involving the use of living animals is carried out in strict accordance with the requirements specified under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. DERA does not undertake any training with the armed forces which involves the use of living animals.
Members of the Defence Medical Service have, however, participated in surgical training exercises conducted by the Danish Armed Forces' Medical Services, which involve live, fully anaesthetised pigs as surgical models. The last exercise in which a UK military surgical team took part was in May 1998. UK participation was subsequently suspended, but is now being resumed, with two military surgical teams taking part in an exercise this week.