Written question asked by Bob Blackman (Conservative) on Friday, 28 August 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 2 September 2026. It was answered by Chris McDonald (Labour) on Tuesday, 8 September 2026 on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade.

Animal Experiments

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, with reference to the Annual statistics of scientific procedures on living animals, Great Britain 2025, published in July 2026, what steps he is taking to replace the use of horses in science with human-specific technologies.

Answer: The Government is committed to reducing and replacing the use of specially protected species, including horses, in scientific research through the Replacing Animals in Science strategy. The strategy supports the development, validation and regulatory uptake of human-specific technologies, including advanced cell-based models, organ-on-a-chip systems, data-driven approaches and AI-enabled tools. The use of specially protected species remains subject to stringent controls and is permitted only where no validated alternative exists.

Secondary information