Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he plans to reduce the number of dogs used in animal experiments by applying the principles of (a) replacement and (b) reduction and refinement in the licensing process; and if he will make a statement.

The UK is committed to maintaining a rigorous regulatory system which ensures that animal research and testing is carried out only where no practicable alternatives exist and under controls which keep suffering to a minimum. The Home Office ensures all research proposals are compliant with the principles of Replacement, Reduction and Refinement (the 3Rs).