Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reasons for the 9 per cent increase in scientific procedures using dogs in 2025, set out in the annual statistics of scientific procedures on living animals, Great Britain 2025.

Although scientific procedures involving dogs increased by 9% in 2025, the number remains low by historical standards, with only 2024 reporting a lower figure. Overall, the use of dogs in science has declined over the past decade.

Dogs are used only where necessary and justified under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA). This is most commonly in regulatory safety testing to assess the safety and efficacy of medicines and other products, where no suitable non-animal alternative is available. The number of procedures requiring dogs may increase or decrease from year to year largely due to changes in regulatory testing requirements, scientific and public health priorities and the availability of suitable non-animal alternatives.

The Government’s Replacing animals in science strategy, published in November 2025 and backed by £75 million, contains measures to accelerate the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods. These measures, together with continuing regulatory scrutiny and independent advice from the Animals in Science Committee, will support further replacement, reduction and refinement of animal procedures.