Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the number of animals used for Defence Science and Technology Laboratory research in 2024.

The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory’s (Dstl) remit to provide safe and effective countermeasures for UK Armed Forces could not currently be achieved without some use of animals. The Ministry of Defence does not conduct animal experiments for the development or testing of offensive weapons.

Dstl is committed to the principles of Reduction, Replacement and Refinement (3Rs) in its use of laboratory animals, and only use animals where no feasible alternative methodologies exist.

In 2024, Dstl used 679 animals in procedures regulated by the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA).