Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what categories of testing involving dogs are authorised under service licenses, including regulatory toxicology and batch quality control testing.

The majority of licences authorising the use of dogs and containing service type activities are for undertaking Regulatory Toxicology testing (safety testing) for purposes including human and veterinary pharmaceuticals and chemicals. A small number allow the production of biological samples, the development of veterinary treatments and pre-regulatory testing.

All activities authorised under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 are subject to a rigorous licensing process. Before a licence can be granted, applicants must demonstrate that the expected benefits justify the potential harms to the animals involved, and the principles of Replacement, Reduction and Refinement (the 3Rs) have been fully applied. This means that harms to animals must be minimised and the work cannot legally be authorised if there is a scientifically satisfactory alternative to the use of animals.