Britain loves dogs – so why are we still testing on them?

29 April 2025, 11:20

Earlier this week, a debate took place in Parliament around the use of dogs in medical research, following thousands of people signing a petition calling for it to be banned.

Animal research is deeply embedded into science, but what many don’t know is that there are new technologies which are animal-free, promote scientific innovation and provide more reliable results.

If we can stop animal suffering and advance medical science more quickly as a result, why wouldn’t we take steps to end animal testing once and for all?

Each year, more than 2.6 million animals are used in UK laboratories in the name of scientific research. This includes mice, cats, rabbits, horses, monkeys, and the nation's number one pet, dogs. Not only are these experiments outdated, but they also often don’t provide us with results that can be accurately translated to humans.

The exciting news is that new innovations are leading the way in ethical, animal-free research, and already being used by forward-thinking scientists.

Artificial Intelligence is changing the game in so many settings and is already revolutionising how we detect disease and make new drugs. Scientists are also creating complex cell structures to conduct experiments on.

We also have organ-on-chip technologies, which are providing incredibly accurate results by emulating the functions of human tissues and organs. The Emulate liver-chip, for example, was able to correctly identify 87% of drugs that carried a risk of liver toxicity in humans, despite those drugs having passed through animal safety tests.

It is a concern that animal tests continue to take place, despite regular flaws in the results they generate. Animals are not simply small versions of humans - our biology, genetics, and physiology differ in fundamental ways, and this is true for dogs as well.

Research shows that dogs are highly unreliable at predicting human drug safety. One major review found dog experiments were barely more accurate than flipping a coin. The Government has claimed dog tests are up to 96% accurate, based on a 2017 study - but that only refers to spotting when something isn’t harmful, and dogs were very poor at predicting when something harmful will happen. In fact, that same study showed dogs correctly identified toxic effects in the liver only 27% of the time.

Clearly embracing technological advancements and funding innovation has so many advantages, but as yet, the Government has not fully committed to these new opportunities.

We’re already seeing this happen in other countries. Earlier this month, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it would be taking steps to phase out animal testing for a certain kind of medicine (known as monoclonal antibody therapies), which would then be followed by other drugs. They’ve said they wish to make “animal studies the exception rather than the norm for pre-clinical safety/toxicity testing”. This roadmap represents a huge step forward to progressing to a world where animals and humans lead healthy, happy lives, free from suffering.

The debate earlier this week demonstrated there is clear support to end dog and other animal experiments from politicians from all parties. At Animal Free Research UK, we have a concrete solution that will accelerate progress towards a brighter future for people and animals here in the UK.  We are calling on the Government to introduce Herbie’s Law. It is named after a beagle dog, who was saved from the laboratory, saved from a life of experiments and suffering. We know it won’t be simple – it gives a 10-year plan to phase out animal experiments, and steps to finance and embrace these innovative new technologies, which could see Britain as a global leader in more humane sciences.

Ending animal research in the UK isn’t a matter of “how”, it’s a matter of “when”. We know it is possible, and the time is now. The science is ready. The public is ready. Now it’s time for political leadership to catch up.

________________

Isobel Martin is Public Affairs Director at Animal Free Research UK.

LBC Opinion provides a platform for diverse opinions on current affairs and matters of public interest.

The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official LBC position.

To contact us, email views@lbc.co.uk