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Home Office

Answer

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reason his Department did not take action in respect of the case of the three primates found dead en route to Huntingdon in 1998. [189393] Caroline Flint: In fact, immediate action was taken. The three animals destined for use in research licensed under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 were found dead on arrival at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris from the Philippines on 5 August 1998. When the Home Office was notified of the deaths we immediately suspended authority to acquire animals from the source establishment until the causes had been properly investigated and any necessary action taken to prevent a recurrence. The problem was also promptly notified to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food as the department then responsible for enforcement of the regulations relating to the transportation of animals. While it was not possible to identify the causes of death, it was considered likely that a combination of the large size of the animals in relation to the transport containers and inadequate ventilation were a contributory factor. The source establishment co-operated fully and ensured that the size of the transport containers was increased and ventilation improved. No problems were detected with a further batch of animals imported in December 1998.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

424 c1898W;424 c1896W; 189393

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Animal welfare Death Animals Animal experiments Transport Huntingdon Life Sciences

Link

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