Liberal Democrats call for UK ban on animal testing
Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker is trying to persuade the industry to accept the economic case for ending animal testing.
Norman Baker, a Liberal Democrat minister for the Home Office, has announced that he would like to see an end to all animal testing in the UK.
The announcement follows a recent government report which states that the number of scientific procedures carried out on animals in the UK rose during 2013 and now stands at 4.12 million - an increase of 0.3 per cent.
Compared with 2012, the statistics for 2013 show that there had been a 6 per cent increase in the breeding of genetically altered animals (mainly rodents and fish); a 107 per cent increase in procedures involving guinea pigs; and a 7 per cent increase in more procedures involving non-human primates.
The Liberal Democrats are committed to reducing the number of live animals used in experiments. They say they are working to introduce legislation before the next election to increase transparency so that the public are informed about what happens to animals in laboratories.
Norman Baker, who is a longstanding anti-vivisection campaigner, is trying to persuade the industry to accept the economic case for ending animal testing and has been encouraging the industry to come up with alternatives.
Following a high-profile campaign by the National Anti-vivisection Society, Norman Baker has carried out a review of Section 24 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. The act currently protects researchers through a "privacy clause".
Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
