Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to Table 2.3 of the Annual Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals, Great Britain, 2016, how her Department ensures that the colonies from which 1,739 primates used for the first time in experimental procedures in 2016 originate are self-sustaining.

On 1 January 2013, the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 was amended to transpose European Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes. The amended legislation does not grant Home Office inspectors entitlement to inspect overseas facilities. The Home Office expects all establishments to exercise due diligence when acquiring non-human primates as set out in the published guidance at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/291350/Guidance_on_the_Operation_of_ASPA.pdf