§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the number of experiments on animals has increased since 1997; what the average number of animals used has been in each year since 1997; and what plans she has to reduce the number of animals used in experimentation. [136143]
§ Caroline FlintI have been asked to reply.
I will write to my hon Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many companies in the UK provide animals for use in experimentation; whether they receive Government assistance; and what regulations control to whom they supply. [136145]
§ Caroline FlintI have been asked to reply.
The breeding and supply of animals for use in experimental or other scientific procedures in the United Kingdom is regulated under section 7 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. There are currently five commercial establishments licensed under the 1986 Act primarily concerned with the breeding and supply of 972W animals for use in experimentation. In addition to these, 140 establishments designated under the 1986 Act also breed animals for use in experiments.
Breeding and supplying establishments are only licensed if the Secretary of State is satisfied that they provide appropriate standards of care and accommodation as set out in the Code of Practice for the Housing and Care of Animals in Designated Breeding and Supplying Establishments presented to Parliament in 1995 under section 21 of the 1986 Act. A supplement to the code of practice dealing with the housing and care of ferrets and gerbils was published separately in 2001.
None of the licensed breeding and supplying establishments, nor any other establishments licensed under the provisions of the 1986 Act, receive financial assistance from the Home Office nor, as far as available records show, from any other Government Department.
The 1986 Act does not regulate the sale of animals. However, unless specifically exempted by the Secretary of State, species listed in Schedule 2 of the Act, including mice, rats, cats, dogs and primates, may only be obtained from designated breeding and supplying establishments for use in programmes of work licensed under the 1986 Act.