Animal Experiments: Coronavirus

(asked on 1st February 2021) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of animals that will be used in experiments relating to the covid-19 outbreak based on the details provided in the project licences that have so far been granted or amended for that purpose.


Answered by
Victoria Atkins Portrait
Victoria Atkins
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
This question was answered on 8th February 2021

The number of animals used in experiments relating to the Covid-19 outbreak will be incorporated in the annual statistics of scientific procedures on living animals in Great Britain for 2020. However, data will not be collected that identifies the number of animals used in experiments specifically related to the Covid-19 outbreak.

Home Office project licences last for 5 years and set the maximum number of animals that are authorised for use during that licence period, making estimates very difficult to calculate accurately.

Reticulating Splines