§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if a cost-benefit analysis under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 was conducted for the recent chemically evoked seizure experiments conducted on guinea pigs; and if he will make a statement; [147181]
(2) if he will make it his policy to apply the same cost-benefit analysis requirements in respect of animal experiments as apply to industry under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. [147180]
§ Dr. Moonie[holding answer 25 January 2001]: Under the terms of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 all proposals for licences to undertake work involving animals have a requirement to have determined the cost-benefit analysis of the research.
This type of analysis is undertaken as part of the formal ethical review procedure required by the Home Office. It assesses all proposals in detail, prior to submission to the Home Office, to determine whether the benefits likely to result from the project outweigh the cost in suffering to 184W the animals to be used. This assessment includes the appropriateness of the animal use and the measures to be taken to minimise suffering. It thus demonstrates that as much as possible has been done to replace the procedures with alternatives not using living animals, to reduce numbers of animals used in particular studies; and, to refine the procedures to minimise pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm, a process known in animal welfare circles as the 3Rs.
The chemically evoked seizure research involving guinea-pigs was conducted under a project licence that had been through this rigorous review process. The research was required to provide UK Service Personnel with the best possible medical countermeasures against nerve agent poisoning. To do this it is essential to understand the actions of nerve agents and test possible therapeutic drugs. This research has provided a better understanding of nerve agent-induced seizures, and suggested approaches to their prevention or reversal by the use of anticonvulsant drugs. In addition, the methods developed during this research led to a significant advance, in that many parameters were able to be assessed within the same animal, reducing the number of animals required.