Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to review project licences authorising the use of dogs in scientific procedures in the context of the strategy on replacing animals in science.

The Government’s first responsibility is to protect public health. Dogs continue to play an important role in research and safety testing where no scientifically satisfactory alternative exists, helping to ensure medicines and other products are safe. We are equally determined to replace their use wherever scientifically possible.

The £75 million Replacing Animals in Science Strategy is accelerating alternative methods. By 2030, the Government aims for validated alternatives to reduce the use of dogs and non-human primates by at least 35% in dedicated pharmacokinetic studies and 50% in dedicated cardiovascular safety studies. The National Centre for the 3Rs (NC3Rs) Virtual Dog project supports this ambition by developing computational models for drug safety testing.

Under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, dogs may be used only where no suitable alternative exists, and this test applies throughout a project licence. The Home Office therefore has no plans for a separate review of licences involving dogs, but is considering the NC3Rs recommendations on strengthening licence assessment and application of the principles of the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement).