Record UK Pet Poisonings From Drugs and Nicotine in 2025
A record number of UK pets needed veterinary care after ingesting recreational drugs in 2025, according to figures shared with The Guardian.
The figures come from the UK's only emergency poison centre for animals. It recorded its highest-ever yearly total for animals poisoned by cannabis, cocaine, magic mushrooms and nicotine. The centre runs two helplines: the Veterinary Poisons Information Service (VPIS) for vets, and the Animal PoisonLine (APL) for owners.
Calls about recreational drugs and nicotine rose 42%, from 445 in 2024 to 633 in 2025. Total calls to VPIS and APL rose 26% over the same period. The centre now averages about one call a day about drug ingestion. The 2025 total is 87% higher than in 2021. Nicotine products and cannabis drew the most calls, with cocaine and magic mushrooms also recorded.
Dr Nicola Robinson is head of service at VPIS. Dog insurer Waggel has seen a rise in cannabis claims from owners over the past five years.
APL is run by VPIS and describes itself as the only 24-hour specialised emergency telephone service in the UK for owners concerned about harmful or poisonous exposures, according to Animal PoisonLine. It charges £35 per call from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and £45 at other times including bank holidays. Its emergency number is 01202 509 000. About 80% of veterinary surgeons are VPIS members and use it regularly for advice on poisoning management.
The broader context here is the split in growth. Total VPIS and APL calls grew by about a quarter in a year. Drug and nicotine calls grew by almost half. That gap points to a caseload shifting in type, not only growing because the helplines are better known or there are more pets.
Looking at what this means for practice, phone data act like a narrow window. They capture cases that reach a vet or an owner willing to pay for advice. Severe cases are likely to be captured. Mild or unobserved ingestions are not. Waggel's five-year rise in cannabis claims points the same way as the VPIS trend since 2021, though neither dataset measures the true rate across all pets.
What this means for vets and planners is largely practical. Nicotine and cannabis lead the calls and both can cause neurological signs that overlap with other poisonings. Rapid advice from VPIS, and from APL out of hours, shortens time to decontamination and supportive care. For planners, one drug-related call a day across a year defines staffing and funding needs more clearly than percentages alone.
