❓ Hon Amanda Dorn questions animal experimentation practices in WA, seeking detailed data on animal usage, ethical considerations, funding, and adherence to best practices. The Minister's response indicates data limitations and ongoing reviews.
AnsweredQoN 867Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to all animal experimentation undertaken in Western Australia (WA), including research funded or administered by the Department of Health, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), and I ask: (a) how many animals were used for scientific purposes in WA between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2024, and can the Minister share a breakdown of species category, numbers used, purpose and procedure; (b) how many animals were used for educational purposes in WA between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2024, and can the Minister provide a breakdown by species category, numbers used, purpose, procedure, and nature of use (including but not limited to: anatomy and dissection classes, surgical training, live demonstrations, observational studies, behavioural research, and simulation or replacement studies); (c) which species, if any, are prohibited from being used in experimentation in WA (e.g. dogs, cats, primates); (d) if permitted, how many primates, cats, or dogs have been used in animal experimentation during 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2024, and who supplied them; (e) in reference to highly invasive experiments: (i) how many experiments in WA during 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2024 were classified as highly invasive (procedure categories 6 and 7); and (ii) were any of the following procedures conducted in WA during 2019 to 2024: forced swim tests, forced inhalation tests, traumatic brain injury experiments (by weight drop or similar), non-fatal strangulation experiments, forced feeding (gavage) procedures or any other comparable highly invasive experiments; (f) how many written approvals for projects proposing Death as an Endpoint (procedure category 8) were approved by the Minister for Agriculture and Food during 2022 to 2024, and what were the purpose category and type of test; (g) are any experiments outsourced to private laboratories or external institutions with differing ethical and animal-welfare standards to Australia; (h) if yes to (g), please detail the arrangements.; (i) what is the total amount of funding allocated to animal experimentation in the 2025–26 State Budget, and what additional funding is provided or administered through the NHMRC; (j) how has the Department of Health and DPIRD implemented recommendation 15 of the Education and Health Standing Committee's HMR Report (28 October 2024), directing more resources to furthering best practice methods of research in WA; (k) will the Minister table a breakdown of laboratory animal sourcing, including interstate and international suppliers; (l) how many adverse incident reports were reported by WA license holders during 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2024; (m) noting that no primates have reportedly been used in WA, as evident from research publications or published statistics, will the WA Government now prohibit the breeding and use of non-human primates in animal research and teaching; and (n) noting that the NHMRC have released policy statements prohibiting the use of NHMRC funds for the forced smoke inhalation and the forced swim tests, setting the standard for medical research in Australia, and New South Wales state have prohibited both tests legislatively, will the WA Government now prohibit the use of these two methods?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
11 December 2025
Responded by
Minister for Agriculture and Food
Response time
8 days
(a-b) Under the Animal Welfare Act 2002 , the use of animals for scientific purposes is prohibited unless the activity is conducted under a licence to use animals for scientific purposes and the person has approval from an animal ethics committee.
A condition of each licence is the requirement to submit an annual animal use report to the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) which includes animal use statistics. The data requested is contained within these individual reports and does not exist as a consolidated dataset.
(c) None.
(d–e) As above. This data is not available.
(f) Responsibility for approving projects rests with the relevant animal ethics committee for the scientific licence holder, not the Minister.
(g) All use of animals for scientific purposes in WA must be licenced and meet the requirements of the Act regardless of whether they are public or private institutions.
(h) Not applicable.
(i) DPIRD does not hold budget information across government agencies.
(j) DPIRD has increased its resourcing for the two animal ethics committees it is responsible for.
Any questions for the Department of Health need to be directed to the responsible Minister.
(k) DPIRD does not collect detailed supplier information.
(l) This data is contained within individual animal use reports and is not available as a consolidated dataset.
(m) No.
(n) This may be considered as part of proposed amendments to the Animal Welfare Act 2002 .
A condition of each licence is the requirement to submit an annual animal use report to the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) which includes animal use statistics. The data requested is contained within these individual reports and does not exist as a consolidated dataset.
(c) None.
(d–e) As above. This data is not available.
(f) Responsibility for approving projects rests with the relevant animal ethics committee for the scientific licence holder, not the Minister.
(g) All use of animals for scientific purposes in WA must be licenced and meet the requirements of the Act regardless of whether they are public or private institutions.
(h) Not applicable.
(i) DPIRD does not hold budget information across government agencies.
(j) DPIRD has increased its resourcing for the two animal ethics committees it is responsible for.
Any questions for the Department of Health need to be directed to the responsible Minister.
(k) DPIRD does not collect detailed supplier information.
(l) This data is contained within individual animal use reports and is not available as a consolidated dataset.
(m) No.
(n) This may be considered as part of proposed amendments to the Animal Welfare Act 2002 .
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