Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many dogs have been euthanised by (a) his Department and (b) agencies and public bodies of his Department since July 2021.

Collation and verification of Military Working Animal (MWA) End of Service data, including information on deaths and euthanasia, is undertaken annually. For the 2021 calendar year 12 dogs and 11 horses were euthanised under veterinary grounds and 1 dog was euthanised for safety reasons. All were carried out by qualified veterinary surgeons.

MWA are only ever euthanised to prevent their unnecessary suffering or because they pose an unacceptable risk. The decision to euthanise is always made by a registered veterinary surgeon, who is required to have taken into consideration each individual animal’s specific health and welfare needs.