Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether dogs which have been de-barked outside the UK are permitted to be kept for breeding, supply or use in procedures at scientific establishments licensed under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.

There are no legal restrictions on dogs which have been de-barked outside the UK being kept for breeding, supply or use in procedures at scientific establishments licensed under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.

However we consider that the Establishment Licence Standard Condition 4(2) ‘Any restrictions on the extent to which an animal can satisfy its physiological and ethological needs shall be kept to the minimum’ is relevant and we would strongly discourage stakeholders considering doing it for welfare and reputational risk reasons. We are not aware of any such dogs being kept at establishments licensed under the 1986 Act.

The Home Office would not authorise the cutting of vocal cords of dogs under the 1986 Act. We cannot envisage any scenario where that would be acceptable unless it were for the health and well-being of the individual animal with the procedure conducted under Veterinary Surgeons Act.