Letter to Lord Sharpe advising on non-human primates bred for use in scientific purposes
Updated 15 November 2022
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Animals in Science Committee
Chair: Professor David Main
Secretary: Caroline Wheeler
14th Floor Lunar House
40 Wellesley Road
Croydon
CR9 2 BY
Email:[email protected]
Lord Sharpe of Epsom
26 October 2022
Dear Minister
Animals in Science Committee – Advice on non-human primates bred for use in scientific purposes
Your predecessor sent the Animals in Science Committee a Commission on 23 June 2022 with a request for advice on non-human primates which have been bred for use in scientific purposes. The Animals in Science Committee (ASC) is pleased to provide you with this advice in the attached report.
This report summarises the findings of the ASC’s evidence gathering, which included a survey of organisations directly involved in the breeding, supply, or use of non- human primates (NHPs), under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, within the UK. Other organisations, relevant to the use of NHPs, were also contacted and therefore the scope of our findings includes all species of NHPs, and both commercial and academic establishments. Due to the short timeframe available to respond to the Commission, the ASC has focussed on the documented existing evidence in formulating this report and its recommendations. The Home Office may wish to undertake a wider consultation with all interested stakeholder groups. Details of the scope of the evidence gathering carried out by the ASC is described in full in the report.
The recommendations in our report have the ultimate aim of ensuring that all non- human primates used in scientific procedures in the UK come from breeding colonies that do not source any non-human primates from the wild. We suggest a requirement for only allowing the use of animals whose parents have both been born in captivity, or those who come from colonies that are permanently closed and ‘self-sustaining’. However, we recognise that for a number of practical reasons, this is not immediately possible and so we have provided advice for how a number of specific and time-limited exemptions could be implemented.
The ASC would like to thank everyone who participated in the preparation of this report, in particular those organisations who responded to request for evidence. The ASC look forward to working with the Home Office in support of the implementation of the recommendations in this report.
Yours sincerely,
Professor David Main
Chair of the Animals in Science Committee