Blood Drained From Dogs and Horses by UK Laboratories

Needles are being inserted into helpless dogs and horses – sometimes directly into the heart – to drain their blood for archaic laboratory purposes, right here in the UK. 

Their blood will be routinely drained, and once they’re no longer useful, they can be forced into other experiments, bled to death, euthanised, or otherwise disposed of. These animals won’t experience the love of a caring family, as many other dogs and horses do.  

Blood Drained From Dogs 

Most of the dogs used are beagles because of the breed’s gentle, trusting nature. 

They may be legally drained four times a month (around 52 times per year), and around 15% of their circulating blood volume may be drained. This can go on year after year, for as long as the dogs are deemed “healthy” – it doesn’t matter to the laboratories if the dogs are in pain and suffering.  

The process can be fatal when the animal is condemned to terminal bleeding – which often happens when a “customer” makes a large order of blood or also wants the animal’s other tissues.   

Typically, an area of skin will be shaved and a cannula inserted into a vein to drain the blood. However, blood may also be drained by inserting a needle directly into their hearts. Only nervous, jumpy dogs receive anaesthetic – others are left to whimper in pain. 

One UK company supplies thousands of millilitres of dog blood every year from countless dogs. And this demand could even increase in the coming years.  

Horses Also Suffer 

Statistics from 2021 show that 10,315 procedures were conducted on 53 horses and other equines for regulatory purposes. Although PETA cannot confirm how the horses were bled or how much blood was taken from these magnificent animals, we can see from the high volume of procedures that their blood was drained many times over. This all happens right here in the UK. 

Inexcusable and Bad Science 

Non-animal methods exist, such as human-derived serum and chemically defined products, and they don’t require the vampire-like abuse of dogs or horses. These cruelty-free methods are advanced, reliable, and available now. Experiments on animals are not only painful, invasive, and cruel but also bad science. Misleading experiments squander huge amounts of money, time, and resources that could be spent on human-relevant research. 

The UK government must embrace superior non-animal research methods and remove the cannulas from the animals trapped inside UK laboratories. PETA’s Research Modernisation Deal provides a detailed strategy for adopting and further developing animal-free research methods that actually stand to help humans. 

What You Can Do to Help Horses and Dogs 

Dogs and horses deserve love and respect from a caring family – certainly not a life sentence of undergoing painful laboratory procedures.

Please join over 100,000 PETA supporters in urging the UK government to adopt our Research Modernisation Deal and commit to ending all experiments on animals:

The UK is not the only country to provide these grim services – please also urge India to close facilities that drain blood from horses and donkeys: