Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number of dogs bred for use in scientific testing which were (a) used and (b) not used in scientific procedures in (i) 2021-22, (ii) 2022-23, (c) 2023-24 and (d) 2024-25.

The following data provides the number of dogs used for the first time in scientific procedures for each year:

2021 - 2,579 dogs

2022 - 2,683 dogs

2023 - 2,477 dogs

Each year the Home Office publishes annual statistics relating to scientific procedures performed on living animals (www.gov.uk/government/collections/animals-in-science-statistics). These statistics provide further information on these procedures such as procedure purpose (Table 1.3) and place of birth (Table 2.1).

The statistics for 2024 are being prepared for a planned publication in July of this year.

Statistics for 2025 will be published next year in the annual statistics.

Additional statistics on animals that were bred for use for scientific procedures but were killed or died without being used in procedures, were previously provided as required by European Directive 2010/63/EU. In 2017, the Home Office published these additional statistics covering the number of non-genetically altered animals that were bred for scientific procedures but were killed or died without being used in procedures; and the number of animals (genetically altered and non-genetically altered) subject to tissue sampling for the purposes of genotyping.

Future publication of this data is under review.