Animal Rising Press

The Crown Prosecution Service has dropped charges against four Animal Rising campaigners who ran onto the tracks at Doncaster Racecourse in 2023, after a series of jury refusals to convict defendants for protesting horse racing. Campaigners argue that the repeated failure to secure convictions, combined with growing public antipathy towards the controversial sport, signals a turning point for the future of horse racing in the UK. The four had been due to stand trial for public nuisance after...

Defendants (From L-R): Ben Newman, Beau Sebastian, and Dan Kidby. In June 2022, three men rescued five beagle puppies from MBR Acres [1] In the fifth and final “Beagle Rescue Trial”, three defendants have all been convicted of burglary following several days of trial. The three were charged with the burglary of five dogs from MBR Acres in June 2022. The jury passed a majority 10-2 verdict after nearly 10 hours of deliberation. The conviction comes as pressure mounts on the Home Office to shut...

Defendants (L-R): Jennifer D’Netto, Andrew Houghton, Dev Vyas, Rose Patterson, and John Sasportas This afternoon, following over two weeks of trial and deliberation spanning three days, a jury at Peterborough Crown Court has acquitted five defendants charged with burglary after the rescue of 18 beagle puppies from MBR Acres in December 2022 [1]. MBR Acres is understood to be the UK’s only facility breeding dogs for the animal testing industry and has been subject to massive public and...