Animal Experiments
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to review the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 to accelerate the transition to animal-free (a) research and (b) testing methodology.
Answered by Dan Jarvis
This Government will soon publish a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods. It will set out how we can build on our support by creating a research and innovation system that replaces animal testing with alternative methods wherever possible.
The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act (ASPA) does not allow testing on animals where there is a validated non-animal alternative that would achieve the scientific outcomes sought. Section 20B of the ASPA already requires the development and validation of alternative strategies.
The Government already invests £10m annually in the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) to accelerate the development and adoption of 3Rs approaches.
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