Asked by: Irene Campbell (Labour - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on trends in the number of animal tests that are taking place for regulatory purposes where a suitable non-animal alternative is already available; and if she will make an assessment of the reasons for those trends.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) ensures that all animal testing, including for regulatory purposes, is only carried out where no non-animal alternative can be used. Licence applicants are required to robustly evidence their consideration of why alternative methods cannot be used. The Home Office Regulator reviews all licence applications and will only issue a licence once it is satisfied there are no practicable alternative methods available. Therefore, if a non-animal alternative is available for the scientific outcome sought then the Home Office will not authorise that testing to take place.
Asked by: Irene Campbell (Labour - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the accredited official statistics entitled Annual statistics of scientific procedures on living animals, Great Britain 2023, published on 11 September 2024, for what purposes were procedures carried out on horses; and whether her Department is taking steps to reduce the use of horses in experiments for (a) the routine production of antibodies and (b) other areas.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Annual statistics of scientific procedures on living animals, Great Britain 2023 provides details on the purposes of procedures using horses in scientific research.
The published statistics show that no horses were used for the routine production of antibodies. The majority of horses are used for the taking of blood that is subsequently used in blood-based products as a supplement in cell culture media.