Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many working dogs there are in (1) the army, (2) the Royal Air Force, (3) the Royal Navy, and (4) the Ministry of Defence; and for each of those organisations, what is the total daily cost of the food for those dogs.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
As at 1 November 2018, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) had 884 Military Working Dogs (MWD). This number will vary slightly each month as MWD enter and leave the service. All dogs are owned by the Defence Animal Training Regiment and the Department does not hold information on their exact breakdown by single Service.
Through the contract with Leidos, the MOD's logistic specialist partner, the MOD spent around £227,000 on dog food between 1 October 2017 to 30 September 2018. This includes food for Regimental mascots but does not cover, specialist dog food (e.g for dogs with sensitive stomachs), dental chews, training aids and treats.
An annual breakdown of food costs by service is shown below:
Army | £105,000 |
Navy | £5,000 |
RAF | £33,000 |
MOD | £84,000 |
Total | £227,000 |
Note: All figures are rounded to the nearest £1000 for presentational purposes