Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of animal testing on animal welfare.

The Government takes the welfare of animals used in science extremely seriously. The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) is the UK’s framework governing the use of animals in research. ASPA enables the limited use of animals in science for societal, environmental or animal benefit. It provides a strict system of controls, rigorously and robustly enforced by the GB Regulator, to ensure animals are only used where necessary and where the expected benefits justify the harms.

ASPA requires application of the principles of Replacement, Reduction and Refinement (the 3Rs) and mandates licensing for establishments, individuals and research projects. A project can only be authorised following a harm-benefit analysis, and all applications undergo ethical and scientific review, including by local Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Bodies, before submission to the Regulator.

Longer term, the Government is fully committed to reducing the use of animals in science. In November 2025, the Government published, Replacing animals in science which sets a programme to accelerate the development, validation, and uptake of alternative methods while maintaining high standards of scientific rigour and public safety.