Petition to end testing on dogs and other animals to be debated on April 27th

A petition to the UK Government, titled ‘End testing on dogs and other animals for development of products for human use’ has already received over 110,000 signatures, suggesting that a significant portion of the public in the UK is against the use of animals in testing. A debate on the petition is scheduled for the 27th of April and proceedings can be watched online.

Animal testing is an unreliable, exploitative process that is still routinely used across the UK. The Home Office reported that 2.6 million tests were conducted on animals in British laboratories in 2024, with 1.2 million of these carried out for the creation and breeding of genetically altered animals, 48 thousand assessed as ‘severe’, 16 thousand carried out on specially protected species (cats, dogs, horses, and monkeys), and almost 12 thousand LD50 procedures were carried out.

Beagles are the main dog breed used in animal testing in the UK, due to their gentle and docile manner. In 2024, 2646 regulated experiments were carried out on dogs in the UK, with 2488 of those tests involving beagles, and 1549 beagles were bred specifically for testing. One CFI investigation, carried out in 2013, found that puppies as young as 5 weeks old were being killed within a laboratory researching into veterinary medicines.

These dogs are routinely used in toxicity testing, getting force fed or injected with chemicals, and often subjected to repeated tests. The results of toxicity tests are assessed via autopsy, so even if the dog survives the horrific tests it is put through, it will still be killed. 

Animal research facility MBR Acres supplies over 2000 beagle puppies a year to UK laboratories. According to Animal Rising, as a holder of a ‘bleeding licence’, the company is allowed to bleed healthy dogs to death to harvest their blood and organs. Additional to this horrific treatment, the site is known to have breached welfare standards, with records exposing unhygienic buildings and a lack of outdoor access or enrichment for the dogs.

Animal Concern urges supporters to sign and share the petition, which is still open, to show the Government how many people in the UK want to see an end to testing on animals ahead of the all important debate on the 27th of April. Find out more about our campaign to end animal testing, and write to your MP now to ask them to support a swift transition away from animal testing to more human specific methods.