Bring into effect a ban on research & testing on dogs in the UK

Testing on dogs is totally unacceptable. We are a nation of dog lovers, force our government to take notice, enforce a ban & be a compassionate example to the rest of the world. We will not stand by & nothing while puppies are bred in cold, dark conditions & sent to laboratories at just 16 weeks.

Medical & toxicology experiments have been conducted on dogs for over 100 years. We are better than this. We won’t stop until this cruel, outdated and inaccurate practice is banned. Thousands of dogs are bred and tested on each year in the UK before being destroyed. There is enough evidence to show there are better, more accurate and humane methods. But until we make a stand, these corporations have no motivation to change. We should not treat these innocent animals this way it is wrong.

The use of purpose bred dogs for research in the United Kingdom is not prohibited under the Animal (Scientific Procedures) Act (ASPA). However, the use of stray dogs is prohibited. Under ASPA, dogs (together with cats, horses, and non-human primates) are specially protected species. This means that greater oversight is required of establishments holding these species and of projects using these species.

As with any project approved under ASPA, all projects proposing to use dogs for research must be for a purpose which is permissible as stated in ASPA. Potential benefits from this research must be likely to be achieved and maximised otherwise no authorisation will be permitted.

Most dogs used for research purposes are for the safety testing of potential new medicines. This is based on internationally set requirements which require testing of potential new medicines in both rodents and non-rodent mammals (usually dogs or macaque monkeys) to protect human health. As a result of adverse findings from animal studies, a large number of drug candidates do not progress to being tested in humans. This testing is undertaken to provide assurance of the safety of medicines before they are given to humans. This Government welcomes the ongoing work to develop validated alternative models for second species testing for the development of medicines and continues to fund and promote alternatives to animal use through the National Centre for the 3Rs.

It is legal to use dogs in other research provided the project meets the requirements of ASPA and has a positive harm benefit assessment.