Minutes of Meetings Reports and Publications Consultation Letters Press Releases	Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (available on the Home Office website)

Press Release - November 1999

Animal Procedures Committee Consult On The Use Of Animals In Biotechnology

26 November 1999 Tel: 020 7273 4600

The effect of new developments in biotechnology on the use and welfare of laboratory animals is the subject of a consultation process started by the Animal Procedures Committee (APC) today.

A consultation letter, sent to research bodies, animal welfare groups and other interested bodies, asks:

What scientific and technical developments are likely to have an impact on the production usage and welfare of animals in scientific procedures over the next few years?
What kinds of poor welfare or actual suffering might animals undergo as a result of their use in scientific procedures relating to these developments?
Does the existing regulatory regime impose satisfactory controls on the production and use of animals in research into, or involving, the emerging biotechnologies?
Does the existing regulatory regime meet the legitimate needs of science and industry, and of the public, in emerging biotechnologies?
Announcing the consultation, Professor Michael Banner, the Chairman of the Committee said

"The Committee reviewed the controls on the use of laboratory animals in 1996/7. We found concerns about whether the controls were adequate and appropriate to cover the use of laboratory animals in the new biotechnologies, in particular embryo manipulation, genetic modification and cloning.

"These technologies could have an important impact on the use of laboratory animals and their welfare.

"We have therefore decided to have a full consultation exercise before we offer the Home Secretary our detailed advice about this issue. The consultation letter has been sent to a range of interested bodies and we want to hear from anybody who has a view on this matter. "

Notes For Editors

The deadline for replies to the consultation letter is Monday 31 January 2000. Further copies are available from the Committee Secretariat at room 978, Home Office, 50 Queen Anne's Gate, London SW1H 9AT. It is also available on the Committee's website at: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/animact/index.htm

The use of protected animals in scientific procedures is controlled by licences issued by the Home Secretary under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. The animal species protected under the legislation are all vertebrates except man (i.e. mammals, reptiles, fish, birds, and amphibians) and octopus vulgaris.

The Animal Procedures Committee is an independent body set up under the 1986 Act to advise the Home Secretary on the use of animals in scientific procedures and his duties under the Act. Its Chairman is Professor Michael Banner.

The results of the Committee's overall review of the controls appear in its annual report for 1997 (published by HMSO).

Minutes of Meetings Reports and Publications Consultation Letters Press Releases	Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (available on the Home Office website)