Open Letter: Shut Down MBR Acres and Safely Rehome the Dogs

Dear The Home Office and Secretary, Shabana Mahmood MP,

We write to you as an incredibly deeply concerned and caring group of public figures and animal lovers. We are calling for the immediate closure of the puppy breeding facility, MBR Acres, as part of an urgent transition away from all animal testing in the United Kingdom.

MBR Acres, as you may know, is a facility in Cambridgeshire with the sole purpose of breeding beagle puppies for the utterly unnecessary animal testing industry - an estimated 2,000 dogs every year. These dogs, often as young as 16 weeks, are regularly experimented upon, with little to no benefit for humans or scientific knowledge.

The United Kingdom is a nation of animal lovers; we are home to the world’s oldest animal charity, the RSPCA, and nearly 40% of our households count a dog as a family member. In the face of this, it is utterly shocking that we continue to subject defenceless puppies to unimaginable pain in the animal testing industry. 

This betrayal is even more gut-wrenching because it’s beagles who are chosen - precisely because they are gentle, friendly, affectionate and trusting. These traits make them beloved members of the family. In the lab, they're the perfect victims who won't put up a fight.

The use of animals for testing has, largely, become obsolete. This is not new information. As long ago as 2004, the British Medical Journal raised serious concerns with its reliability, with a paper posing the question: “Where is the evidence that animal research benefits humans?” A 2015 Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics paper concluded, “When considering the ethical justifiability of animal experiments, we should ask if it is ethically acceptable to deprive humans of resources, opportunity, hope, and even their lives by seeking answers in what may be the wrong place. In my view, it would be better to direct resources away from animal experimentation and into developing more accurate, human-based technologies.”

New technologies such as cell culture, organ-on-chip, and in silico testing promise more reliable results, in less time, without the massive suffering and deaths of animals. The future is clear; all that remains is for the right decision to be made to focus on funding and expanding alternatives to testing on animals, like the beagle puppies from MBR Acres. The future is clear; now is the time for the UK to lead the world into an animal-free testing paradigm, instead of clinging to unreliable techniques that are a stain on our nation’s values.

The majority of the public is firmly against the use of animal testing, and now is the time to step up and do the right thing. Shut down MBR Acres, rehome the dogs and let Britain lead the world into a future without animal testing. 

Kind Regards,

Celebrities and Public Figures

Dame Joanna Lumley, Actress and Presenter.

Jonathan Ross OBE, TV Presenter & Broadcaster.

Chris Packham CBE, Broadcaster and Environmental Campaigner.

Amanda Holden, Presenter, Actress, and Singer.

Olivia Bowen, Media Personality.

Lucy Watson, Model, Former Star of Made In Chelsea, and Television Personality.

Peter Singer, Professor of Bioethics, Emeritus, Princeton University.

J.M. Coetzee, Nobel Prize-winning author.

John Banville, Author.

Jake Lambert, Comedian.

Dr Richard D. Ryder, MA, PhD (Cantab) DCP AFBPsS FZS, Retired Trustee, Chair and President of the RSPCA.

Gail Porter, Broadcaster & Animal Rights Advocate.

Mat Fraser, Actor & Writer.

Abbie Dewhurst, Weather & Climate Presenter.

Alexis Gauthier, Michelin-Starred Vegan Chef.

Politicians

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb, Green Party Member of the House of Lords.

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle, Green Party Member of the House of Lords.

Rt Hon. Lord McNally, Liberal Democrat Member of the House of Lords.

Siân Berry MP, Green Party Member of the House of Commons for Brighton Pavilion.

Adrian Ramsay MP, Green Party Member of the House of Commons for Waveney Valley.

Carla Denyer MP, Green Party Member of the House of Commons for Bristol Central.

Dr Ellie Chowns MP, Green Party Member of the House of Commons for North Herefordshire.

Caroline Lucas, a former Green Party Member of the House of Commons for Brighton Pavilion.

Will Stone MP, Labour Party Member of the House of Commons for Swindon North.

Neil Duncan-Jordan MP, Labour Party Member of the House of Commons for Poole.

Ruth Jones MP, Labour Party Member of the House of Commons for Newport West and Islwyn.

Matt Bishop MP, Labour Party Member of the House of Commons for Forest of Dean.

Chris Hinchliff MP, Labour Party Member of the House of Commons for North East Hertfordshire.

Rachael Maskell MP, Labour Party Member of the House of Commons for York Central.

Brian Leishman MP, Labour Party Member of the House of Commons for Alloa and Grangemouth.

Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP, Labour Party Member of the House of Commons for Clapham and Brixton Hill.

Terry Jermy MP, Labour Party Member of the House of Commons for South West Norfolk.

Kim Johnson MP, Labour Party Member of the House of Commons for Liverpool Riverside.

Douglas McAllister MP, Labour Party Member of the House of Commons for West Dunbartonshire.

Tan Dhesi MP, Labour Party Member of the House of Commons for Slough.

Nadia Whittome MP, Labour Party Member of the House of Commons for Nottingham East.

Richard Burgon MP, Labour Party Member of the House of Commons for Leeds East.

Kerry McCarthy MP, Labour Party Member of the House of Commons for Bristol East.

Christine Jardine MP, Liberal Democrat Member of the House of Commons for Edinburgh West.

Liz Jarvis MP, Liberal Democrat Member of the House of Commons for Eastleigh.

Zarah Sultana MP, Your Party Member of the House of Commons for Coventry South.

Seamus Logan MP,  Scottish National Party Member of Parliament for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East.

Iqbal Mohamed MP, Independent Member of Parliament for Dewsbury and Batley.

Alex Easton MP, Independent Member of Parliament for North Down.

Animal Protection and Activist Organisations

Ingrid Newkirk, Founder, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

Rose Patterson, Director, Animal Rising.

Mark Westcombe, Director, Animal Think Tank.

Claire Palmer, Founder, Animal Justice Project.

Laura Lisa Hellwig, Managing Director, VIVA!

Nina May, Founder and Editor of Wunderdog Magazine.

Libby Peppiat, CEO, The Vegan Society.

Sue Coe, Artist Activist.

Melanie Joy, PhD, Award-winning author and the founding president of Beyond Carnism.