Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the protection of cephalopods under the provisions of Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 as amended.

European Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes was implemented in the United Kingdom and other Member States on 1 January 2013. This was transposed into UK legislation through the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.

From 1 January 2013 cephalopods received the same protection as all other species that are regulated under the Act. Detailed advice on the application of up-to-date approaches to the accommodation and care of all cephalopods is
included in Section 3, Chapter13 of our Code of Practice for the Housing and Care of Animals Bred, Supplied or Used for Scientific Purposes. The Code was published in December 2014 and can be found on the Gov.UK website and copies
were placed in the House Library (ISBN 978-1-4741-1239-0).