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Home Office

Answer

Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what the benefits are of the licensing procedures of substantial severity under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986; if these are dependent upon the species of animals used; and if he will make a statement; [148106] (2) if he will exclude procedures involving (a) major surgery and (b) xenotransplantation under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 from the substantial severity category; and if he will make a statement; [148109] (3) if he will ensure that the guidelines attached to the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 stipulate that the Secretary of State will not license procedures likely to cause severe pain or distress that cannot be alleviated; and if he will make a statement. [148107] Mr. Mike O'Brien: The reply I gave the hon. Member on 8 November 2000, Official Report, column 253W, fully explained the criteria for placing scientific procedures on animals in the category of "substantial severity". That reply also made it clear that, for each licence application, the likely severity of the effects of a proposed procedure on the animals concerned are weighed against the benefits likely to accrue in medical research or other developments. This is an area of research where, rightly, enormous care is taken in granting licences. This means that licences can allow protected animals to suffer substantially severe effects only in the relatively few cases where it appears justified by the significant medical, pharmaceutical and other research gains to be made (66 of the 3,481 project licences in force at the end of 1999 had substantial severity conditions). Even then, as I made clear in the earlier reply, licence holders are required to minimise pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm, and to approach the prescribed severity limit only when absolutely necessary. The species of animals to be used may be a factor in determining severity limits, given the criteria for defining the categories and the known varying degrees of sentience between species. However, the judgment on severity limits is exercised with respect to the suffering to be encountered by a protected animal, rather than the species by itself. The Guidance on the Operation of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, presented to Parliament in March 2000, states that the Secretary of State will not license any procedure likely to cause severe pain or distress which cannot be alleviated. This accords with section 10(2A) of the Act, which in turn refers to Council Directive No. 86/609/EEC, regarding use of anaesthesia and analgesics. As a further safeguard, all project licences contain a standard condition (number 6) requiring that only the minimum justifiable animal suffering is caused and personal licences all bear a standard condition (number 14) requiring the prompt and humane destruction of an animal that is in severe pain or distress that cannot be alleviated. In addition, Animals (Scientific Procedures) Inspectors have the power to require the prompt and humane killing of any protected animal they consider to be suffering excessively or unnecessarily. There are no current plans to exclude major surgery and xenotransplantation from the substantial severity category. Each application for a licence to undertake such procedures will continue to be assessed on a case by case basis.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

362 c267-8W; 148106;148109;148107

Session

2000-01

Subjects

Animal welfare Codes of practice Animals Animal experiments Licensing Research

Legislation

Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk