Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason there was an increase in experiments conducted on dogs for the purposes of plant protection product legislation in 2020 from previous years; and what types of products were tested in those experiments.

The Home Office has made no assessment of the reason there was an increase in experiments conducted on dogs for the purpose of plant protection product legislation in 2020 from previous years.

The requirements for regulatory testing are set by regulatory bodies across Government. The Home Department regulates the use of animals in science through administration and enforcement of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) which describes that the evaluation of a programme of work is favourable if it is required by law.

Data were not collected on what types of products were tested in those experiments.