THIS WEEK IN 1999: MP: Animal testing must finish '“ now

A Portsmouth MP demanded an end to military experiments on animals after the Ministry of Defence admitted it still tested on pigs and sheep.

The revelation came weeks after the MoD was criticised for continuing experiments on goats at a site at Alverstoke to assess the effects of underwater pressure.

Animal rights supporter and Liberal Democrat MP for Portsmouth South, Mike Hancock, said he was stunned animals were still being used in experiments at laboratories in Wiltshire and wanted the practice halted.

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The Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA), the MoD’s scientific wing, admitted 96 pigs were tested at Porton Down near Salisbury in 1998.

One experiment included testing chemical blister agents on animals to assess the damage caused to skin.

Scientists were also using animals to test armoured materials used to protect soldiers from explosives and missiles and to assess new methods of treating battlefield wounds.

Mr Hancock said: ‘It’s horrendous. There’s no need for it at all. I’m gobsmacked and appalled that they are still doing them.’