Statement in response to e-petition 736578

The e-petition 736578 calls for an end to the use of dogs and other animals for the development of products for human use. It reached over 100,000 signatures and was debated in parliament on 27 April 2026.

We understand that the use of species such as the dog for research is a cause for concern for many people. Dogs are mainly used in tests to assess the safety of potential of medicines and there are opportunities to replace, refine and reduce their use. The NC3Rs has already succeeded in some areas but in others there is still a long way to go. Our work with researchers in the UK and internationally to replace the use of dogs includes research that has helped to avoid the use of laboratory dogs in the testing of drugs to treat heartworm – a serious veterinary infection for pet dogs and cats. We have also published work to encourage the social housing of dogs (rather than them being kept on their own) for studies that involve measuring cardiovascular function with telemetry devices, as well as guidance on limiting the suffering of dogs in toxicity studies. 

For many years testing the safety of potential medicines has involved two species – a rodent (a rat or a mouse) and a non-rodent (a dog or a monkey). The NC3Rs work shows that there are opportunities to drop the non-rodent species. Through the NC3Rs CRACK IT Challenges innovation programme, and in collaboration with global pharmaceutical companies, we have provided £1.6M to develop a virtual dog. The project has supported the building of computational models of dog tissues and organs to assess the potential toxicity of drugs. In the future, the virtual dog could be used to replace the need to use dogs in the testing of some new medicines.

The NC3Rs has a long-standing programme working with the pharmaceutical to reduce the use of non-human primates in medicine development. The FDA’s recent draft advice to streamline nonclinical safety packages and the EMA’s recent Reflection Paper on Non-Human Primates have both been significantly informed by the NC3Rs work in this area which has identified opportunities to reduce and refine the use of monkeys.

Since the NC3Rs was launched in 2004 we have committed more than £60M for research and innovation in alternatives to the use of animals in research from organ-on-chips through to computer models. These methods are being used to replace the use of animals in many areas of research although their full potential is often not realised, with barriers including access to training and infrastructure. NC3Rs awards address these barriers and have included £5M of investment with BBSRC and UKRI in 2022 to accelerate the development and adoption of alternatives and £3.95M awarded in 2024 to provide infrastructure and specialist resources across the UK. In 2026 the NC3Rs and ABPI published a report highlighting the opportunities for alternative models along with practical guidance to support their uptake by industry to improve medicines development and reduce reliance on animals.