One of the original protest campers spent four nights traveling back and forth alone in her car from work. 'I saw what was going on in the lab and it was heartbreaking to hear those puppies crying day in, day out. I could not stop crying my eyes out when I heard them', she said.
BEN JONES: Protesters have set up a ‘Camp Beagle’ outside the MBR Acres site in Wyton, near Huntingdon, where the dogs are bred to be used in research. At the weekend hundreds of demonstrators gathered in support of the ‘Camp Beagle’ campaign and police officers were drafted in to ensure staff could leave the site. Police said two arrests were made. SOURCE…
ITV: Protestors are calling for a beagle breeding site in Huntingdon, which rears dogs specifically for animal research, to be closed down. A camp outside the MBR Acres site near RAF Wyton has been growing over the last few weeks. They have been campaigning about the issue for over a year now.
The protests ramped up recently after footage emerged allegedly showing the kind of treatment that the animals experience at research laboratories. MBR says experiments don’t happen at the centre as it is a breeder of research animals, regulated and routinely inspected by the Home Office.
However, it’s not the conditions inside the facility are not the subject of the protest but rather the fact that the puppies are bred indoors. Campaigners say the puppies never see daylight and are then taken away to be used for animal research, and they want this to stop.
Protestors argue that modern computer research could be used instead of experimenting on animals. One of the alternatives, they say could include investing in technologies that will allow for testing on lab-grown organs and cells… The campaigners remain undeterred… stating they would stay camped outside the centre until it is shut down. SOURCE…
DEBBIE LUXON: Staff working at MBR Acres had to be escorted by police past lines of protesters when leaving the facility this afternoon… Dozens of Cambridgeshire officers were drafted in to police the animal rights demonstration…
One protestor, who didn’t want to be named, said she has campaigned for animal rights her entire life. Born to campaigning parents, she grew up vegan and brought her animal rights group from Reading today for the protest. She said: “Today is pivotal. It’s the first day since the early 2000’s that we’ve had a genuine opportunity to get animals out of the lab. It’s history-making. “The level of public support is now on such a high that MBR Acres know their time is running out”…
Protester Chris Sanger has lived in Huntingdon for 20 years but only found out about the facility three weeks ago from a neighbour. “I felt sick to my stomach when I found out,” she said, “I had to come up here immediately.” A big animal lover and dog-owner, this is the first protest she has been involved in, visiting the camp regularly. “You just feel so helpless you just want to go in and get them out but you can’t,” she said… “It’s the anger, no one knew it was here,” she added, describing common feelings of “shock and disgust” among residents…
Bethany, 27, from Leicestershire, is one of the original protest campers; she initially spent four nights travelling back and forth alone in her car from work. “I saw what was going on in the lab and it was heartbreaking to hear those puppies crying day in, day out,” she said, “I could not stop crying my eyes out when I heard them.” “We want MBR to work with us to rehome the beagles. We’re ready when they are to peacefully get the beagles and transport them.” She added that Camp Beagle has a “fantastic” community feel, and has received “so much support from people and on social media”…
Ayrton Cooper, 27, is a senior campaigner at the Animal Justice Project… showed his support to the protestors, saying: “I want to see this place closed down. If you’ve ever met any animal you know none want to feel pain or be harmed, rats, mice or dogs. “So many people in the UK have dogs. Most people aren’t going to want experiments on dogs. Its disturbing to take advantage of a dogs kind nature to then inflict such suffering on them
He said he’s optimistic about the outcome of today’s efforts: “We need to make an example of this place to show the entire industry that they need to end animal testing. The activists and locals have enough passion, dedication and resources to easily close this place down, but we need more public support. It’s up to authorities to step in, and for local councils to stop providing licenses to these facilities”…
A total of 4,270 beagle experiments were carried out in the UK in 2020, Home Office figures released earlier this month show, the majority for regulatory procedures. This represents a 5.3 per cent increase on 2019 figures. 70 other procedures were performed on dogs of other breeds. Beagles are the main breed used because of their “small size and placid natures,” according to animal rights groups. The new government statistics also show that Cambridge University increased animal tests for the first time since 2016, largely due to a rise in zebrafish procedures. SOURCE…
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