Written question asked by Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party) on Tuesday, 14 July 2026, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 28 July 2026. It was answered by Lord Vallance of Balham (Labour) on Monday, 20 July 2026 on behalf of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

Animal Experiments

Question: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment have they made of the 45 per cent increase in scientific procedures using horses from 2015 to 2025, set out in the Annual statistics of scientific procedures on living animals, Great Britain 2025; and what steps they are taking to replace the use of horses in science with human specific technologies.

Answer: The increase in horse procedures between 2015 and 2025 should be viewed in context: while procedures rose by 45%, the number of horses used for the first time fell from 581 to 100. In 2025, around 69% of horse procedures were routine blood sampling for regulatory purposes and were assessed as mild severity. The Government is supporting the development, validation and regulatory uptake of alternative methods, including human-specific technologies, through the Replacing Animals in Science strategy, and requires animals to be used only where no validated alternative exists.

Secondary information