The Home Office regulates the use of animals in science under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA). Under ASPA, all project licence applications must comply with the principles of Replacement, Reduction and Refinement (the 3Rs), which set out that animals may only be used when no validated non-animal alternative exists, the number of animals is minimised, and any potential harms are minimised.

In the last twelve months, the Home Office has not refused any licences involving canines on the grounds that a scientifically satisfactory non-animal alternative method or testing strategy was available.

The number of formal refusals is not, however, a meaningful indicator of either application of non-animal alternatives or regulatory rigour. All applications go through multiple review stages before reaching the Home Office Regulator, and guidance is available to assist applicants in preparing submissions that meet all legal requirements. Only applications that fully meet the requirements of the legislation may be considered for licensing authorisation.

All establishments licensed to use animals must have an Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body (AWERB), which reviews proposals before they are submitted to the Regulator. Therefore, establishments’ internal review processes are intended to identify where suitable alternatives are available before applications are progressed to the Home Office.

Applications received by the Home Office are subject to detailed scrutiny, including requests for clarification or amendment where required. Applicants may revise or withdraw an application in response to feedback.

The Replacing Animals in Science strategy includes a commitment to reduce the use of dogs in pharmacokinetic and cardiovascular safety studies by 35% by 2030, where scientifically justified and supported by validated alternatives. The Government is working with regulators, industry and other partners to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods needed to achieve this ambition. A publicly available dashboard of progress against the strategy’s key deliverables and key performance indicators is being developed, and the Government will publish a delivery update, alongside key performance indicators on progress across all elements of the strategy, later in 2026.

The Government is committed to reducing the use of animals in science, including dogs, through our Replacing Animals in Science strategy, which supports the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods. The UK’s legal framework already requires animals to be used only where no validated alternatives exist. We are taking targeted action to reduce the use of dogs, including in pharmacokinetic and cardiovascular safety studies, by accelerating the development and regulatory acceptance of validated alternatives. Progress will be reported through the strategy’s delivery update and performance framework, to be published later in 2026.

The statutory guidance that supports our dog breeding licensing scheme in England mandates the use of a puppy contract by high star-rated dog breeders. The contract was co-developed by key sector organisations and can be found here: The Puppy Contract - for responsible puppy breeding and buying.

The Government’s Code of Practice for the Welfare of Dogs provides advice to owners thinking of breeding from their dogs and a list of sources of further information they can access. The Code can be found here: Code of practice for the welfare of dogs - GOV.UK.

Owners considering breeding from their dogs can also access sector best practice such as the Canine and Feline Sector Group’s Code of Practice for Dog Breeding or advice published by the Royal Kennel Club.

The Government takes biosecurity very seriously. Disease risk is monitored carefully and is kept under constant review. Where necessary we have the powers in legislation to introduce preventive health measures to protect animal or public health by controlling diseases or infections that are likely to be spread due to the movement of pet animals into Great Britain.

We will continue to monitor and consider any further actions that may be necessary to prevent tick borne diseases as appropriate.

Under the Microchipping of Cats and Dogs (England) Regulations 2023, both cats and dogs are required to be microchipped. There are no current plans to publish best practice guidance on enforcing the requirement for all cats and dogs to be microchipped and we will continue to keep this under review.

Local authorities and police have powers to enforce breaches of the Regulation. It will be for each local authority to determine on a case-by-case basis whether enforcement action is proportionate.

Under the Microchipping of Cats and Dogs (England) Regulations 2023, both cats and dogs are required to be microchipped. There are no current plans to publish best practice guidance on enforcing the requirement for all cats and dogs to be microchipped and we will continue to keep this under review.

Local authorities and police have powers to enforce breaches of the Regulation. It will be for each local authority to determine on a case-by-case basis whether enforcement action is proportionate.

We will keep under review whether to grant local authorities the power to issue conditional fixed penalty notices for non-compliance with microchipping regulations for dogs and cats.

The Government is supporting the Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill. The Bill will close loopholes in the non-commercial pet travel rules that are abused by unscrupulous traders by reducing the number of dogs, cats and ferrets that can enter Great Britain in one non-commercial movement to five per vehicle or three per foot or air passenger.

The Government will introduce the most ambitious programme for animal welfare in a generation and will bring forward plans in due course. Ministers will be considering available evidence around the use of hand-controlled e-collars and their effects on the welfare of animals.

The Government recently announced its support for the Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill, a Private Members’ Bill sponsored by Dr Danny Chambers MP. The Bill will close loopholes in the non-commercial pet travel rules that are abused by unscrupulous traders and give the government powers to prevent the supply of low-welfare pets to the United Kingdom. We will use these powers to prohibit the bringing into Great Britain of heavily pregnant dogs and cats.

We are fully supportive of this Bill and would like to see it pass through both Houses as soon as Parliamentary time allows.

The Government recently announced its support for the Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill, a Private Members’ Bill sponsored by the hon. Member for Winchester. The Bill will give the Government powers to prevent the supply of low-welfare pets to the United Kingdom. We will use these powers to prohibit the import of puppies and kittens under six months old, dogs and cats which have been subject to non-exempted mutilations such as cropped ears, docked tails and declawing, and heavily pregnant dogs and cats.

We are fully supportive of this Bill and would like to see it pass through both Houses as soon as Parliamentary time allows.

The Government recently announced its support for the Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill, a Private Members’ Bill sponsored by the hon. Member for Winchester. The Bill will give the Government powers to prevent the supply of low-welfare pets to the United Kingdom. We will use these powers to prohibit the import of puppies and kittens under six months old, dogs and cats which have been subject to non-exempted mutilations such as cropped ears, docked tails and declawing, and heavily pregnant dogs and cats.

We are fully supportive of this Bill and would like to see it pass through both Houses as soon as Parliamentary time allows.

This Government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious plans to improve animal welfare in a generation.

As outlined in our manifesto we will end puppy smuggling. We will also be considering available evidence around the use of hand-controlled e-collars and their effects on the welfare of animals.

We are considering the most effective ways to deliver our commitments. Ministers will continue to meet with animal welfare charities to discuss their views on a range of issues.

The Ministry of Justice currently collects and publishes data relating to the offence of not microchipping your dog in England and Wales.

The relevant offence code is 11126 and the latest data is available here:

As the compulsory microchipping of cats was only introduced in England in June 2024, these figures will relate to dogs only at this stage.

The Government takes biosecurity very seriously. Disease risk is monitored carefully and is kept under constant review. Where necessary we have the powers in legislation to introduce preventive health measures to protect animal or public health by controlling diseases or infections that are likely to be spread due to the movement of pet animals into Great Britain.

We continue to monitor and consider any further actions as appropriate.

We fully understand the devastating impact the theft of a pet can have, which is why in 2016 we made it compulsory to microchip all pet dogs in England and have extended this legislation to include cats from 10 June 2024.

On 29 March, we published the Government’s response to a consultation on cat and dog microchipping that sets out how we will address a number of recommendations made in the Pet Theft Taskforce report. This includes developing a new single point of search portal to make it easier to search compliant databases for a microchip record and strengthening the process for changing keepership.

We are also already supporting Anna Firth’s Pet Abduction Bill through parliament. This Private Member’s Bill is looking to introduce new offences for dog and cat abduction. Alongside this, police forces are working together to better coordinate and share best practice and advice on the steps owners can take to protect their pets.

This package of measures will help protect dogs and cats across England, including in the Romford constituency.

The Government is fully committed to animal welfare. However, this is a transferred matter in Northern Ireland, and so it is for the newly restored Executive to determine how to protect animal welfare, including tackling poor breeding practices as seen in puppy farming.