Question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it is his policy to license the extraction of foetal calf serum from cows under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
Answer
[holding answer 2 March 2006]: The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 makes provision for the protection of animals used for experimental and other scientific purposes, and does not contain any specific prohibition of the use of animals to harvest foetal calf serum. Any application under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 for a licence involving the extraction of foetal calf serum from cows would be considered and judged on its merits in the usual way.