❓ Hon Amanda Dorn questions the Minister for Agriculture and Food regarding animal welfare in WA laboratories, data collection, ethics committee resourcing, and the potential use of non-human primates in research. The Minister provides responses detailing oversight mechanisms, data availability, and future intentions.

I refer to Question on Notice No. 867 asked in the Legislative Council on 11 November 2025, and the response provided on 11 December 2025, and I ask:(a) with reference to the Minister's response to questions (a), (b), (d) and (e), whereby the Minister stated this data does not exist as a consolidated dataset:(i) what oversight mechanisms exist to monitor the holistic welfare of animals currently in laboratories across Western Australia, given these consolidated views are not provided;(ii) will the Minister require Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) to provide accessible consolidated annual reports about animals in experimentation, including how many animals are used, species category, purpose and procedure, and adverse incident reports; and(iii) if no to (a)(ii), why not;(b) with reference to the Minister's response to question (g), whereby the Minister stated all use of animals must be licensed and meet the requirements of the Act regardless of whether institutions are public or private:(i) are any experiments conducted under WA scientific licences outsourced to contract research organisations outside Australia; and(ii) if yes to (b)(i), please detail the arrangements;(c) with reference to the Minister's response to question (j), whereby the Minister stated resourcing for the two animal ethics committees has been increased:(i) how does DPIRD's resourcing of the two ethics committees implement recommendation 15 of the Education and Health Standing Committee's HMR Report (28 October 2024), which directs more resources to furthering best practice methods of research in WA;(ii) what specific best practice research methods, if any, has this resourcing advanced; and(iii) has resourcing been increased, and if so, by what amount and when;(d) does the breeding of animals for the purposes of experimentation occur in Western Australia;(e) in reference to (d), which species are bred;(f) in reference to (d), will the Minister provide accessible consolidated data or individual annual reports from all holders of a license to supply animals for scientific purposes for the period 2021-2025;(g) if no to (f), why not;(h) in reference to (d), will the Minister require DPIRD to provide accessible consolidated annual reports on animals bred for experimentation;(i) if no to (h), why not; and(j) with reference to the Minister's response to question (m), whereby the Minister stated the WA Government will not prohibit the breeding and use of non-human primates in animal research and teaching, I ask:(i) given no non-human primates have been used in animal research and teaching in WA, what is the basis for the Minister's decision not to prohibit their use; and(ii) does the WA Government intend to use non-human primates in animal research and teaching in future and if so, why?

(a)      (i) The use of animals for scientific purposes is regulated through a system of licensing, animal ethics committee oversight and compliance monitoring by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD). Projects must be approved and monitored by an animal ethics committee, with licence holders required to submit annual reports and institutional licence holders subject to periodic independent external review. These mechanisms collectively provide oversight of animal welfare at the project, institutional and regulatory levels. (ii-iii) The Australian and New Zealand Council for the Care of Animals in Research and Teaching is investigating options for nationally consistent reporting of animal use statistics with the Western Australian Government engaging with the Council on this initiative. (b)      (i-ii) Activities undertaken outside of WA, including internationally, are not subject to the Animal Welfare Act 2002 (Act) and cannot be conducted under a licence issued under the Act. (c)      (i-iii) DPIRD has increased resourcing for the Animal Ethics Committee and the Wildlife Animal Ethics Committee from 2.5 FTE in 2024 to 3.4 FTE as at 27 March 2026. Recruitment is underway for a further 1 FTE. This supports the Education and Health Standing Committee's HMR Report recommendation by strengthening ethical review processes. (d-e)  Yes. The Animal Welfare Act 2002 regulates the supply of animals, rather than breeding, and the WA Government therefore does not collect comprehensive data on all species bred for scientific purposes. Licence holders have reported supplying rabbits, sheep, mice, rats, zebrafish, and guinea pigs for scientific purposes. (f-g)   The below table provides consolidated data on animals reported as being supplied for scientific purposes from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2024.  As the deadline for annual report submissions is 30 April, information for the 2025 reporting period is not yet available. Year Common descriptor Number supplied 2021 Mouse 335,734 Rat 26,495 Rabbit 363 Sheep 171 Total 362,763 2022 Guinea Pig 96 Mouse 122,835 Rabbit 197 Rat 9,986 Sheep 382 Total 133,496 2023 Guinea Pig 49 Mouse 100,745 Rabbit 444 Rat 9,904 Sheep 446 Total 111,588 2024 Guinea Pig 169 Mouse 92,077 Other Fish 1,855 Rabbit 491 Rat 9,992 Sheep 489 Total 105,073 Year Common descriptor Number supplied 2021 Mouse 335,734 Rat 26,495 Rabbit 363 Sheep 171 Total 362,763 2022 Guinea Pig 96 Mouse 122,835 Rabbit 197 Rat 9,986 Sheep 382 Total 133,496 2023 Guinea Pig 49 Mouse 100,745 Rabbit 444 Rat 9,904 Sheep 446 Total 111,588 2024 Guinea Pig 169 Mouse 92,077 Other Fish 1,855 Rabbit 491 Rat 9,992 Sheep 489 Total 105,073 (h-i)   Refer to (a)(ii-iii). (j)        (i) The WA Government does not intend to prohibit the use of non-human primates for scientific purposes as such a prohibition would end appropriate future research and teaching activities that maybe undertaken to ensure the health and welfare of primates kept in captivity. (ii) Not at this stage.