Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the availability of scientifically validated alternatives to the use of dogs in procedures licensed under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986; and what steps her Department is taking to encourage their adoption.

DSIT’s most recent assessment is set out in its November 2025 strategy, Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods. This reports that alternative methods can already replace some uses of animals and that advances including organoids, organ-on-a-chip systems and computational approaches offer significant further potential. However, the maturity and regulatory acceptance of alternatives vary, and scientifically satisfactory non-animal methods are not yet available for all purposes for which dogs are used.

Under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, a project involving dogs may be authorised only where its purpose cannot be achieved by a scientifically satisfactory method that does not use protected animals. Applicants must demonstrate how they have applied the principles of replacement, reduction and refinement, and the availability of alternatives is considered during the project licence assessment.

DSIT is supporting wider adoption through its £75 million strategy programme, including investment in the development and validation of alternative methods, action to increase regulatory confidence and acceptance, and new infrastructure and partnerships to support their use. This is intended to accelerate the replacement of animal procedures, including those involving dogs, wherever scientifically robust alternatives become available.