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6 Oct 2008 : Column 125W—continued
Other DFID programmes provide support to Zimbabwean migrants, orphans, essential health care including maternal and infant mortality reduction, and to mitigate the impact of HIV and AIDS. All DFID programmes in Zimbabwe have been designed to react rapidly to deepening humanitarian needs.
Written Answers to Questions
Monday 6 October 2008
Home Department
Animal Experiments
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to Table 8 of the Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals Great Britain 2007, what the techniques that caused psychological stress involved; which ungulates were subjected to such techniques; and for what reasons there was a rise from the previous year in the number of animals subjected to techniques involving psychological stress. [222751]
Meg Hillier: All of the animals in question were pigs. The licensed work seeks to identify how genetic and environmental components, such as standard husbandry practices, impact on animal welfare, and the insights gained are intended to assist farmers and others identify areas of concern and suggest means of improving welfare. In 2006 the work focused on studies not involving psychological stress. The stressors used in 2007 were either routine housing and husbandry practices or involved the mixing of unfamiliar animals which may cause a level of psychological stress.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals Great Britain 2007, how many of the procedures recorded were conducted on (a) foxes, (b) badgers, (c) common seals, (d) bats, (e) pine martins, (f) bottle-nosed dolphins and (g) squirrels; and if she will publish equivalent figures for those species in future sets of statistics. [222753]
Meg Hillier: The information requested is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Details of the information that is collected, including the classification of species, is published at Appendix B of the Department’s publication Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals Great Britain 2007, a copy of which can be obtained from the Department’s website at:
We have no plans to review or revise the species breakdown used in the annual statistics publication. The publication of statistics of scientific procedures on living animals for Great Britain is part of the National Statistics framework. The content of the collection and outputs are subject to review by the UK Statistics Authority and takes account of burdens on data suppliers, the needs of users, data quality issues and resources.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to Table 6a of the Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals Great Britain 2007, what the purpose was of each of the procedures recorded as being conducted for alcohol research. [222755]
Meg Hillier: The primary purpose of the procedures recorded in 2007 was fundamental biological research. It is Government policy not to allow the use of animals for the development and testing of alcohol products. There are, therefore, no licences authorising such procedures.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department by what means she ensures that project licences are granted only for those animal procedures where no suitable non-animal alternative exists; whether her Department requires a retrospective evaluation to be undertaken on the completion of a project of whether non-animal alternatives could have been used; and if she will make a statement. [222774]
Meg Hillier: Under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, the Home Office can only license the use of animals for scientific purposes where there is no non-animal alternative, and then only when both the number of animals and their suffering is minimised. A significant proportion of the time spent by Home Office inspectors assessing applications for new project licences and amendments is devoted to ensuring that these principles are rigorously applied. In addition, the retrospective review of project licences is a key function of the local ethical review process that every establishment designated under the 1986 Act is required to maintain.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the primary reasons are for the increase in the number of animals used in scientific procedures since 1997. [222792]
Meg Hillier: Historically, the number of scientific procedures declined after 1976, levelled out in the 1990s and since 2000 has risen back to around the level recorded in 1990 (historical tables are available online at the Home Office website). Many factors influence trends in the use of animals under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, including the economic climate, global trends in scientific endeavour and strategic decisions by funding bodies. The increase in the use of genetically altered strains seen over recent years has also had an impact as advances in genetics open up new and promising avenues of medical research.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her Department's definition is of fundamental biological research as it relates to scientific procedures involving animals. [222793]
Meg Hillier: For the purpose of measuring the primary purpose of procedures, fundamental biological research is defined as “studies of normal, or abnormal, structure or function of living organisms, organs, tissues, cells or other systems (including fundamental studies in toxicology)”.
Details of the information that is collected is published at Appendix B of the Department’s publication Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals Great Britain 2007, a copy of which can be obtained from the Department’s website:
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her Department has set targets for the proportion of scientific procedures to be undertaken without using animals. [222795]
Meg Hillier: No targets have been set for a proportion of scientific procedures to be undertaken without using animals. We consider it is unrealistic, and would raise false hopes, to set a date by which it will be feasible to phase out animal use before scientific progress provides the means to do so.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department under what circumstances animals from non-designated sources within the UK may be granted exemptions for use in scientific procedures. [222796]
Meg Hillier: The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 sets limits on the Secretary of State's powers to allow exemptions to obtain animals from non-designated sources within the UK. In the case of cats and dogs, exemptions may be granted only when no animal suitable for the purpose of the programme specified in the licence can be obtained from a designated breeding establishment; in the case of animals taken from the wild, exemptions may be granted only when no animal suitable for the purpose of the programme specified in the licence can be obtained from a designated breeder or supplier, or another captive-bred source and in the case of animals of an endangered species, they may only be used on projects aimed at their preservation or for essential biomedical purposes where the species in question exceptionally proves to be the only one suitable for the purpose.
Additional administrative controls require that, unless otherwise authorised by the Secretary of State, designated breeding and supplying establishments may only obtain animals of the types listed in Schedule 2 to the Act from other designated sources.
Applicants seeking permission to obtain such animals from non-designated sources are generally required to demonstrate that no suitable animal can be obtained from a designated source. Suitability may be determined by particular factors including strain, age, weight and health status.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals Great Britain 2007, for what reasons returns (a) are required on the use of animals listed under Appendix 1 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES), (b) are not required on the use of animals listed under Appendix 2 of CITES; and if she will make it her policy to prohibit the use of animals listed under either Appendix 1 of Appendix 2 of CITES in scientific procedures. [222798]
Meg Hillier: Statistical returns are required in respect of endangered species as defined by section 10 (3A) of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, which transposes Article 4 of European Directive 86/609/EEC providing protection to species listed in Appendix 1 to CITES and Annex C1 to Council regulation 3626/82. We have no plans to extend protection to species listed in Appendix 2.
Animal Experiments: Dogs
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to Table 2 of the Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals Great Britain 2007 (a) from which countries and (b) for what scientific purposes the dogs referred to were imported. [222757]
Meg Hillier: The majority of imported dogs are for use in regulatory toxicology studies. For security reasons, it is not our practice to disclose details of their countries of origin .
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the reasons are for the increase in the use of dogs in scientific procedures between 2006 and 2007; and if she will make a statement. [222799]
Meg Hillier: The increase in procedures using dogs occurred in two areas: applied studies in human medicine and dentistry and the protection of man, animals and the environment. There is, however, no evidence that this represents a significant trend. The use of dogs varies year on year depending on the particular programmes of work being undertaken.
Animal Experiments: Licensing
Dr. Palmer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many licences were granted by her Department for the conduct of (a) 12-month dog toxicity and (b) carcinogenicity studies using mice for the purpose of evaluating risks of plant protection products and their ingredients in (i) 2006, (ii) 2007 and (iii) 2008; and if she will make a statement. [222660]
Meg Hillier: The information requested is not readily identifiable from Home Office records. However, I can confirm that in practice 13-week dog studies are the current norm for the purpose of evaluating risks of plant protection products or their ingredients unless there is scientific justification for a longer study.
Animal Experiments: Macaques
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to Table 1a of the Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals Great Britain 2007, how many macaques of each species were used in the procedures recorded. [222756]
Meg Hillier: The information requested is not available. Data on individual species of macaques is not collected. I can confirm, however, that only rhesus and cynomolgous macaques have been imported for use in scientific procedures under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 in recent years.
Animal Experiments: Primates
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many live primates were imported from China for use in scientific procedures in (a) 2006, (b) 2007 and (c) 2008 to date. [221825]
Meg Hillier: In 2006, 244 live non-human primates were imported to the United Kingdom from China for use in scientific procedures. In 2007, there were 50 and none to date have been imported in 2008. The numbers imported directly from China have declined since 2006 because macaques originating from the Chinese breeding centre are now exported from China to a European supplying centre where animals are held pending sale to European customers.
Animal Experiments: Scotland
Ms Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many regulated procedures conducted in Scotland in 2007 under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 involved (a) cats, (b) dogs, (c) rabbits, (d) horses and other equids, (e) New World primates and (f) Old World primates; and how many of those procedures in each case involved (i) genetically modified animals and (ii) animals with a harmful genetic defect. [223758]
Meg Hillier: During 2007, in Scotland, there were 16 regulated procedures under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 using cats, 1,386 using dogs, 5,988 using rabbits, 2,758 using horses and other equids, 59 using new world primates and 1,154 using old world primates. None of these procedures used genetically modified animals or animals with a harmful genetic defect.
Ms Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individual animals were used in regulated procedures under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 in Scotland in 2007. [223939]
Meg Hillier: 381,134 animals were used in regulated procedures under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 in Scotland in 2007.
Ms Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) mice, (b) rats, (c) guinea pigs, (d) hamsters, (e) rabbits, (f) horses and other equids, (g) sheep, (h) pigs, (i) birds, (j) amphibians, (k) reptiles, (l) fish, (m) cats , (n) dogs, (o) New World primates and (p) Old World primates were used in regulated procedures conducted in Scotland under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 in 2007. [223940]
Meg Hillier: During 2007, in Scotland, there were 258,391 mice, 50,634 rats, 2,861 guinea pigs, 441 hamsters, 2,902 rabbits, 128 horses and other equids, 5,150 sheep, 761 pigs, 4,477 birds, 86 amphibians, 51,497 fish, 16 cats, 1001 dogs, 50 new world primates and 902 old world primates used in regulated procedures under the 1986 Act. No reptiles were used.
Ms Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) genetically modified animals and (b) animals with a harmful genetic defect were used in regulated procedures conducted in Scotland under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 in 2007. [223943]
Meg Hillier: During 2007, in Scotland, there were a total of 381,134 animals used in regulated procedures under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, of which 150,943 were genetically modified animals and 12,112 were animals with a harmful genetic defect.
Ms Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of project licences granted under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 that were in force in Scotland at the end of 2007 were in (a) mild, (b) moderate, (c) substantial and (d) unclassified severity bandings. [223945]
Meg Hillier: During 2007, in Scotland, 37 per cent. of the project licences granted under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 were in the mild severity banding, 58 per cent. in moderate, 1.5 per cent. in substantial and 3.5 per cent were unclassified.
Ms Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of regulated procedures under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 carried out in Scotland in 2007 were conducted without anaesthesia. [223946]
Meg Hillier: Under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, all procedures must be carried out under general or local anaesthesia unless the anaesthesia would be more traumatic to the animal than the procedure itself, or anaesthesia is incompatible with the object of the experiment. Typical protocols not requiring the use of anaesthesia include those involving only minimally invasive dosing or sampling, and dietary studies.
There were a total of 392,671 regulated procedures under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 in Scotland in 2007, of which 251,517 (64 per cent.) were without anaesthesia.
Ms Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many infringements of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 were recorded in Scotland in 2007; and how many resulting prosecutions there were. [223947]
Meg Hillier: During 2007 there was one infringement of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 reported at a designated establishment in Scotland, and this did not result in a prosecution.
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