FREE THE MBR BEAGLES
PUTTING ANIMAL TESTING ON TRIAL
In 2022, Animal Rising supporters rescued 23 beagle puppies from Marshall BioResources (MBR) Acres, a facility that breeds around 2,000 dogs annually for testing, and has come under fire for welfare breaches (with recorded fly infestations, unhygienic buildings, lack of bedding, and dogs without access to outdoor spaces or enrichment).
Now, the puppies' rescuers face charges and up to 10 years in prison, with trials beginning this December.
This trial challenges the legitimacy of animal testing in the UK, potentially setting a precedent for the abolition of animal testing, and the right to rescue. With rising opposition to outdated testing methods, this case could mark a significant shift. We need your support.
TAKING ANIMAL TESTING TO TRIAL
This is the trial of the decade and it could not be more important. If juries of 12 ordinary people return not-guilty verdicts for our actions it will send a shockwave through society; it could even spell the beginning of the end for animal testing in the UK, and perhaps the globe. However, the animal testing industry is rich, powerful, and will do anything to find us guilty.
We will need access to expert legal professionals to build our case. Throughout this time we need your support to give us the best chance of finding animal testing guilty.
Watch the groundbreaking 2022 rescue of 18 beagle puppies from the notorious breeding facility MBR Acres.
THE RESCUED PUPPIES
In June of 22 we rescued 5 puppies, and then followed up in December with the rescue of 18 more dogs from MBR Acres, but, tragically, two more were intercepted by police during the rescue. Despite our best efforts, thousands of petition signatures, celebrity outcry, and a demonstration at Cambridgeshire Constabulary’s Headquarters - Love and Libby were returned to MBR Acres. It is for those two, and every other animal stuck in needless testing that we are taking this to trial.
However, the 23 dogs did get their happy endings. One of them, Max (not his real name, to protect him) has been featured several times on our social media since the rescue! His humans tell us that he has grabbed his new life with both paws and loves a beach walk or rolling in grass at every opportunity! Another, Zippy, is the most energetic little dog anyone could ever meet. As soon as he was rescued and in a safe place he couldn’t stay still and made the absolute most of his newfound freedom.
Max and Zippy’s lives are what we wish for every puppy inside MBR Acres and beyond. The freedom to enjoy life is something every animal should have.
MBR ACRES: THE LAST BASTION OF BEAGLE BREEDING FOR ANIMAL TESTING
In rescuing those puppies from MBR Acres we gave them the chance of long and happy lives. In animal testing dogs are routinely killed before they’re six months old - but beagles live as long as 14 years naturally!
The site, MBR Acres, is responsible for breeding around 2,000 beagles each year to be sold for animal testing at 16 weeks old. The company also holds ‘bleeding licences’ which allow them to bleed healthy dogs to death to harvest their blood and organs. The site has previously come under fire for welfare breaches with recorded fly infestations, unhygienic buildings, lack of bedding, and dogs without access to outdoor spaces or enrichment.
Celebrities like Will Young, Peter Egan, and Megan McCubbin have all spoken out against animal testing - with Young even handcuffing himself to the gates of MBR in 2021! In 2023, after our rescue, the Daily Mirror ran a story detailing the horrific conditions dogs are kept in at the site.
ANIMAL TESTING: AN INDUSTRY CLINGING ONTO CRUEL TRADITION
Animal testing, as well as ethically of the past, is scientifically of the past. Animal-free methods can give more reliable and more accurate results, and are pioneering and transforming research into health and disease. Reliable alternatives to animal testing include testing on lab-grown stem cells or ‘organs-on-a-chip.’
A 2015 article published in the "Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics" reported evidence that suggests that the collective harms and costs to humans from animal experimentation outweigh potential benefits and that resources would be better invested in developing human-based testing methods.
In 2021, 3.06 million instances of animal testing were recorded in the UK, a 6% increase on 2020. 4,016 of these tests were carried out on beagles like those bred by MBR Acres. The procedures often result in vomiting, internal bleeding, organ damage, seizures and death. For those who survive, the tests can last for months, after which the animals are killed regardless.