Camp Beagle - Misplaced Pages

Animal rights protest camp in England

Camp Beagle
Front gates of MBR Acres, covered in protester signs
Date	June 2021 (2021-06) – present
Location	MBR Acres, Wyton, Cambridgeshire, England 52°21′40″N 0°08′18″W / 52.3611334°N 0.1382937°W / 52.3611334; -0.1382937
Caused by	Animal rights activists opposing the breeding of beagles for research
Goals	Closure of the facility and end of the use of beagles in research
Methods	Protest camp, civil disobedience
Status	Ongoing
Casualties
Arrested	At least 15

Camp Beagle is an ongoing protest camp set up in June 2021 by animal rights activists outside of MBR Acres, a breeding facility for beagles used in laboratory research, in Wyton, Cambridgeshire. As of May 2024, It is the longest-lasting protest camp of its kind, where protesters have maintained a permanent presence, as they want the site to be closed down.

Background

MBR Acres is owned by the American company Marshall BioResources (MBR). Up to 2,000 beagles are bred at the facility each year; they are sold at the age of around 16 weeks to be used for drugs and chemical testing. Since 2020, protests have been held around the facility by animal rights movements.

History

The camp was first set up in June 2021; footage of dogs from the facility published by the Daily Mirror led to increased support of the campaign. The protesters argue that the facility is factory farming beagles; MBR has issued a statement saying that the protesters are misinformed and that breeding of animals is essential for medical research. The statement also stated that the facility is both regulated and frequently inspected by the Home Office which enforces strict laws around animal welfare in research facilities.

Actors Ricky Gervais and Peter Egan have voiced their support for the facility to be closed down. In August 2021 The Times Newspaper published a letter signed by in support of MBR Acres and its contribution to medical research to nineteen scientific societies and organizations.

On 28 August, Camp Beagle coordinated a protest with Animal Rebellion at Smithfield Market in London.

15 activists were arrested on 31 August for "suspected obstruction of the highway or of criminal damage."

Following a High Court injunction hearing instigated by MBR Acres, it was ruled, on 5 October, that the camp was allowed to remain, with the provision that activists must remain at least 10 metres from the gates.

In October 2021, a Freedom of Information Request revealed that Cambridge Constabulary spent £165,166 from 27 June to 14 September 2021 on policing the camp. According to protesters, "more than 40 officers and 10 police vans" were used during a day of transportation in October. The following month, the singer Will Young handcuffed himself to the gates of the facility, describing the facility as a "puppy farm".

In December 2022, activists from Animal Rebellion freed 18 beagles from the facility. Two beagles known as Libby and Love – that were recovered by police – were later returned to the facility, and 14 people were arrested as part of an investigation into burglary and aggravated trespass at the site. In July 2023, nine campaigners were found guilty of aggravated trespass, and were given conditional discharges or fines. The Crown Prosecution Service otherwise dropped charges of burglary against 12 people, stating that "the legal test for going ahead had not been met".

On 25 May 2024, an estimated 400–500 protesters descended upon the camp, as part of a protest billed as 'Operation 1,000', in an attempt to attract 1,000 protesters to the camp. Cambridgeshire police closed the nearby road due to the number of demonstrators in attendance.

References

^ Ironmonger, Jon (31 August 2021). "Beagle breeding protesters arrested in Cambridgeshire". BBC News. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
^ Jolley, Ben (26 May 2024). "MBR Acres protest at Wyton in Sawtry Way Huntingdon". The Hunts Post. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
^ Elworthy, John (26 May 2024). "Gleeful look in her eyes as wheelchair activist spray paints sign at 'puppy factory'". CambsNews.co.uk. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
Bánfi, Alexandra (5 November 2021). "Beagle testing has 'no place in our society'". Cambrian News. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
Blakely, Rhys (20 August 2021). "We're going to win, MBR Acres beagle farm protesters insist". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
^ Dalton, Jane (7 October 2021). "Police spend tens of thousands of pounds protecting transport of puppies to labs for experiments". The Independent. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
^ Leishman, Fiona (9 July 2021). "Protesters set up camp outside Cambs animal testing breeding facility". Cambridgeshire Live. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
Blakely, Rhys (3 August 2021). "Ricky Gervais joins fight to close animal testers' beagle puppy farm". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
"Letters to the editor". The Times. 18 August 2021. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
Phillips, Alexa (28 August 2021). "Animal Rebellion: Hundreds of animal rights protesters linked to Extinction Rebellion stop traffic in London". Sky News. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
Collett, Alexandra (5 October 2021). "'We are here to stay!' High Court allows Camp Beagle to remain". The Hunts Post. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
Haygarth, Dan (17 November 2021). "MBR responds to Camp Beagle protest that saw Will Young handcuffed to its gates". Cambridgeshire Live. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
Davis, Barney (21 December 2022). "Animal Rebellion activists free 18 beagle puppies from testing facility". Evening Standard. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
"Lab dogs recovered after break-in at Wyton breeding centre returned". BBC News. 23 December 2022. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
Elworthy, John (31 March 2024). "Free and happy – Max the beagle 'liberated' by activists from MBR Acres near Huntingdon". CambsNews.co.uk. Retrieved 29 May 2024.

Animal rights

Topics (overviews, concepts, issues, cases)

Overviews

Concepts

Issues

Animal agriculture	Animal product Battery cage Bile bear Chick culling Crocodile farm Concentrated animal feeding operation Fish farming Fur farming Fur trade Insect farming Intensive animal farming Intensive pig farming Livestock Poultry farming Slaughterhouse Wildlife farming Working animal Feedback (pork industry) Foam depopulation Ventilation shutdown
Animal testing	Alternatives to animal testing Animal testing on non-human primates Animal testing regulations Great ape research ban Green Scare Huntingdon Life Sciences Model organism Nafovanny Operation Backfire Vivisection
Animal welfare	Animal euthanasia Cruelty to animals Pain in animals Pain in amphibians Pain in cephalopods Pain in crustaceans Pain in fish Pain in invertebrates Pain and suffering in laboratory animals Welfare of farmed insects
Fishing	Commercial fishing Fishing bait Recreational fishing
Wild animals	Culling wildlife Hare coursing Hunting International primate trade Ivory trade Predation problem Seal hunting Wild animal suffering Wildlife management
Other	Abandoned pets Animal sacrifice Animal slaughter Animal trial Animals in sport Live food Live export

Cases

Methodologies

Observances

Advocates (academics, writers, activists)

Academics
and writers

Contemporary

Historical

Activists

Contemporary

Historical

Movement (groups, parties)

Groups

Contemporary

Historical

Parties

Animal Justice Party (Australia)
Animal Politics EU (Europe)
Animal Protection Party of Canada (Canada)
Animal Justice Party of Finland (Finland)
Animals' Party (Sweden)
Animalist Movement (Italy)
Animalist Party with the Environment (Spain)
DierAnimal (Belgium)
Human Environment Animal Protection Party (Germany)
Italian Animalist Party (Italy)
Party for the Animals (Netherlands)
People Animals Nature (Portugal)
V-Partei³ (Germany)

Activism

Animal Rights National Conference

Media (books, films, periodicals, albums)

Books

On Abstinence from Eating Animals (3rd century)
Moral Inquiries on the Situation of Man and of Brutes (1824)
The Rights of Animals (1838)
The Ethics of Diet (1883)
Animals' Rights (1892)
Evolutional Ethics and Animal Psychology (1897)
Better-World Philosophy (1899)
The Universal Kinship (1906)
The New Ethics (1907)
Animals, Men and Morals (1971)
Animal Liberation (1975)
The Case for Animal Rights (1983)
Morals, Reason, and Animals (1987)
Zoos and Animal Rights (1993)
Animals, Property, and the Law (1995)
The Lives of Animals (1999)
Eternal Treblinka (2001)
Do Animals Have Rights? (2005)
Striking at the Roots (2008)
An American Trilogy (2009)
An Introduction to Animals and Political Theory (2010)
Animal Rights Without Liberation (2012)
Political Animals and Animal Politics (2014)
Animal (De)liberation (2016)
Sentientist Politics (2018)
Wild Animal Ethics (2020)
Animal Ethics in the Wild (2022)
Making a Stand for Animals (2022)

Films

The Animals Film (1981)
A Cow at My Table (1998)
Shores of Silence (2000)
The Witness (2000)
Meet Your Meat (2002)
Legally Blonde 2 (2003)
The Meatrix (2003)
Peaceable Kingdom (2004)
Earthlings (2005)
Behind the Mask (2006)
Your Mommy Kills Animals (2007)
The Cove (2009)
Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home (2009)
Forks Over Knives (2011)
Vegucated (2011)
An Apology to Elephants (2013)
Speciesism: The Movie (2013)
The Ghosts in Our Machine (2013)
Unlocking the Cage (2016)
Dominion (2018)
Seaspiracy (2021)

Periodicals

Journals	Animal Sentience Between the Species Cahiers antispécistes Etica & Animali Journal of Animal Ethics Relations. Beyond Anthropocentrism The Animals' Defender
Magazines	Arkangel Bite Back Muutoksen kevät No Compromise Satya

Albums

Animal Liberation (1987)
Tame Yourself (1991)
Manifesto (2008)
Salvation of Innocents (2014)
Onward to Freedom (2014)

Fairs and exhibitions

Holocaust on your Plate (2003)

Category ( 139 )

v t e Animal testing
Main articles	Alternatives to animal testing Animal testing on invertebrates Animal testing on frogs Animal testing on non-human primates Animal testing on rabbits Animal testing on rodents Animal testing regulations History of animal testing History of model organisms IACUC Laboratory animal sources Pain and suffering in laboratory animals Testing cosmetics on animals Three Rs Toxicology testing
Testing on	Frogs Invertebrates Primates Rabbits Rodents Syrian hamsters
Issues	Animal rights Animal welfare Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act Biomedical Research Great ape research ban International primate trade Laboratory animal allergy Pain and suffering in laboratory animals
Controversial experiments	Britches Brown Dog affair Cambridge University primates Monkey Drug Trials Pit of despair Silver Spring monkeys Unnecessary Fuss
Companies	Charles River Laboratories Fortrea Inotiv Jackson Laboratory Nafovanny
Groups and campaigns	Anti-Vivisection Coalition Americans for Medical Progress AAAS AALAS Animal Defence and Anti-Vivisection Society Animal Free Research UK ALF Boyd Group Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing Cruelty Free International PETA ALF Foundation for Biomedical Research National Anti-Vivisection Society New England Anti-Vivisection Society Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine Primate Freedom Project Pro-Test SHAC SPEAK Speaking of Research Stop Sequani Animal Testing Research Defence Society Understanding Animal Research
Writers and activists	Colin Blakemore Carl Cohen Gill Langley Ingrid Newkirk Neal D. Barnard Jerry Vlasak Simon Festing Tipu Aziz
Legislation	Animal testing regulations Animal Experimentation Convention 1986 (Council of Europe) Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (UK) Animal Welfare Act 1999 (NZ) Animal Welfare Act of 1966 (US) Directive 2010/63/EU (EU)

Categories:

Background

History

See also

References