Today, (8/11/24) two supporters of Animal Rising attended a plea hearing at Cambridge Crown Court, pleading not guilty to burglary and handling stolen goods.
The two took action along with 15 others in December 2022 to rescue beagle puppies from MBR Acres, a Cambridgeshire breeding facility for the vivisection industry[1].
18 rescuers were charged with burglary after rescuing 18 beagle puppies, with all of them turning themselves into the authorities after the rescue.
All 15 that attended a plea hearing on 18/10/24 at Peterborough Crown Court pleaded not guilty [2].
The rescuers intend to ‘put animal testing on trial’ with the trial set to begin on December 1st, 2025.
Two Animal Rising supporters appeared at Cambridge Crown Court today after being unable to attend the initial plea hearing held in October. Both were charged with burglary, and an additional charge of handling stolen goods. They pleaded not guilty, with the intention of bringing the case in front of a jury to publicly highlight the cruelty of the animal testing industry.
Orla Coghlan, Animal Rising spokesperson, said:
“The rescuers risked their own freedom so these gentle dogs could have the freedom to play and be loved, instead of tortured and thrown away. By spotlighting the cruelty of the animal testing industry in front of a jury of ordinary people, the industry will have nowhere to hide.
Stories of animals resisting experimentation are more relevant now than ever, and they deserve to live lives free from suffering and exploitation. It’s clearer than ever that this outdated and unjustifiable industry must come to an end.”
MBR Acres breeds up to 2,000 puppies a year that are later sold at 16 weeks old to be tested on. Some puppies are bled to death to harvest their blood and organs [3] while many are force-fed poisons and drugs that leave them “hypersalivating, trembling, vomiting and moaning on the floor” [4] before ultimately dying or being put down.
Alternatives to animal testing such as lab-grown stem cells and advanced computer modeling have proven to be more effective and ethical in research, [5] compared to the almost 90% of experimental drugs that are tested on animals which go on to fail in human trials [6]. According to the Humane Society International, “animal studies fail to predict real human outcomes in 50 to 99.7 percent of cases” [7].
Animal Rising is a social movement to create a new relationship with all beings and give us a chance for a safe ecological future. The group primarily calls for the transition to a secure and sustainable plant-based food system, alongside a mass rewilding programme.
ENDS
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Notes to Editors:
[3] Bleeding License: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZJeVUWMnE3msPSz1bE-fo_pWOkdJW8jc/view?usp=sharing
[4] https://www.humanesociety.org/blog/undercover-investigation-exposes-horrors-animal-testing-and-more-80-dogs-who-need-our-help?utm_source=blogredirect