Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many dogs have been euthanised by (a) his Department and (b) agencies and public bodies of his Department since June 2020.

Collation and verification of Military Working Animal End of Service data, including information on deaths and euthanasia, is undertaken annually. For the 2020 calendar year 19 dogs were euthanised on veterinary grounds and five dogs were euthanised for safety reasons. All were carried out by qualified veterinary surgeons.

Our working animals provide an invaluable service to our troops, and every effort is made to rehome them at the end of their service life. Decisions are taken by the Military Working Animal rehoming board following an extensive assessment of the animals and any potential new home. Sadly, there are some occasions where it is not possible to rehome an animal safely. Service animals are only euthanised for one of two reasons; either because the animal poses an unacceptable risk to public safety or due to a veterinary condition causing unnecessary suffering.