That this House has considered non-compliance animal testing incidents in laboratories.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Western. The uncomfortable backdrop of today’s debate is that animal experimentation results in legally sanctioned animal suffering. That is the fact that we must keep …..." Michael Wheeler - View Speech
"I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention, and of course I agree.
ASRU is tasked with licensing animal experiments and, importantly, ensuring compliance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. The reason for the Act is to protect animals and to require the use of non-animal alternatives wherever scientifically …..." Michael Wheeler - View Speech
"I of course agree, and I have some information that will illustrate the point and the importance of inspections. In 2024, just 68 establishments were audited across Great Britain. Only 10 of the inspections were unannounced. That represents just 15% of inspections, which is down from 63% of inspections in …..." Michael Wheeler - View Speech
"Of course. It will surprise my hon. Friend not at all that I agree. I will come to the wider context and wider solutions, but at this time, although we can look to improve the situation, we must absolutely look to make sure that current regulations are enforced as we …..." Michael Wheeler - View Speech
"I think it will come as no surprise to my hon. Friend that I do agree with him, and I will be making that very call.
We are in a good place when it comes to the development of alternatives. I therefore welcome the publication of the Government’s “Replacing animals …..." Michael Wheeler - View Speech
"I thank my hon. Friend for another valuable intervention. I agree with her.
The Government’s strategy contains a range of positive measures, such as increasing funding for human-specific technologies, but we can move faster—more, we have an opportunity to grow the strategy by supporting cutting-edge, world-leading new technologies that are …..." Michael Wheeler - View Speech