Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many project licences for animal testing have been approved in the last five years; and what proportion of those included conditions requiring the use of New Approach Methodologies where available.

The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 does not allow testing on animals where there is a validated non-animal alternative available that would achieve the scientific outcomes sought.

The number of project licences granted are published in the Regulator’s Annual Report, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/animals-in-science-regulation-unit-annual-reports. The numbers for 2020 to 2023 are below. The Annual Report for 2024 will be published later this year.