Annual Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals, Great Britain 2025

The statistics on scientific procedures performed on living animals for 2025 have been published today.

A total of 2,537,507 tests were performed and 2,457,619 million living animals were used for the first time. This represents a mere reduction of just 3.8% in both figures compared to 2024. The 2025 stats are evidence that the government’s strategy to phase out animal testing is a failure from the start.

We have analysed the statistics relating specifically to beagles — and the picture is even more concerning.

Despite the government promise to reduce the number of dogs used in experiments, every major indicator has increased from last year’s figure:

The number of beagles used for the first time increased by 3%
The number of beagles bred in the UK increased by 5%
The number of regulatory procedures carried out on beagles increased by a staggering 12%

Regulatory procedures are primarily toxicology and safety tests of pharmaceuticals and chemicals, carried out mainly at contract research laboratories such as Labcorp, Charles River and Sequani. These are precisely the types of animal tests that the Government’s phase-out strategy was supposed to reduce.

Instead, they have increased dramatically.

The total number of procedures carried out on beagles also increased by 11%.

The only positive trend is that no beagles were imported into the UK for use in experiments in 2025. While this means fewer dogs have to endure long-distance transport from the United States, it also suggests that an increasing number are now being bred here in the UK instead.

In August 2023, Camp Beagle carried out an international exposé revealing the importation of thousands of beagles from the USA to laboratories across Europe. The investigation disrupted a major import route through Copenhagen Airport using SAS passenger flights.

It is encouraging to see that beagle imports into the UK have now stopped. However, the latest figures show that this has not reduced the number of dogs destined for laboratories—it has simply shifted where they are bred.

The Government promised to phase out animal testing. Instead, the number of beagles being bred, used and subjected to regulatory testing has increased. By its own measures, the strategy is failing.

Read full stats here.