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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 Ho

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 p

Photo taken at a demonstration against adding Life Sciences to Key National Infrastructure (5/1/26) Last night, a letter signed by dozens of cross-party MPs, celebrities including Dame Joanna Lumley and Amanda Holden, and animal organisations such as Animal Rising and PETA, was sent to the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood MP [1]. The letter calls for an immediate closure of MBR Acres, the only site in the UK breeding dogs for the animal testing industry, alongside the safe reh

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

Nine Animal Rising campaigners were sentenced today (27/02/26) at Wolverhampton Crown Court for “conspiracy to commit criminal damage” as part of an Animal Rising campaign that targeted dairy giants Müller, Arla, and Freshways dairy facilities, immobilising dairy trucks and leading to milk shortages across the nation. [1] [Müller trucks immobilised by campaigners in 2022] All 9 pleaded guilty on 14/11/25 at Wolverhampton Crown Court to conspiracy to commit criminal damage, a

Three Animal Rising campaigners were sentenced today (25/02/26) at Southwark Crown Court after pleading guilty to “possession of items with intent to damage property” after taking part in Animal Rising’s dairy campaign which targeted Müller, Arla and other dairy suppliers. The three individuals pleaded guilty in Southwark Crown Court on 13/05/25 They were each given 12 months conditional discharge, £760 contribution towards court costs and a victim surcharge of approximately

Four of the five defendants convicted of burglary following the rescue of 18 beagle puppies from the MBR Acres breeding facility in December 2022 have today been sentenced at Cambridge Crown Court, bringing the first trial in this landmark legal case to a close. The case, the first in the UK to test the “Open Rescue” tactic before a jury, has drawn national attention to the use of dogs in animal experimentation and the legal boundaries of direct action taken to prevent animal

Four defendants have all avoided immediate custodial sentences after being convicted of Burglary, with sentences ranging from suspended custodial sentences to conditional discharges. Yesterday, following a 7-day trial at Peterborough Crown Court, four defendants were convicted of burglary after deliberation lasting approximately 5 hours. The trial came after they rescued 18 beagle puppies from MBR Acres, a site breeding animals for testing, in December 2022 [1]. This is the t

Defendants (L-R) Ash Faulkner, Ben Thomas, Matilda Dunlop, and Michael Sykes. Second Guilty Verdict For Beagle Puppy Rescuers In Watershed Legal Case After a 7-day trial at Peterborough Crown Court, four defendants have been convicted of burglary after deliberation lasting approximately 5 hours. The trial came after they rescued 18 beagle puppies from MBR Acres, a site breeding animals for testing, in December 2022 [1]. The defendants are due to be sentenced tomorrow morning,

Defendants (From L-R): Alan Guthrie, Louisa Hillwood, Thomas Cusick, and Kat Chan. After a 7-day trial at Cambridge Crown Court, four defendants have been unanimously acquitted of burglary after deliberation lasting approximately 2 hours. The trial came after they rescued 18 beagle puppies from MBR Acres, a site breeding animals for testing, in December 2022 [1]. This is the second of four trials in this case, with the first group of five being found guilty of the same offenc

This morning, an open letter signed by Chris Packham, Lush Cosmetics, several law firms, and pro-democracy groups was handed into the Home Office [1]. The open letter, addressed to the Home Secretary, called on her to withdraw a proposed Statutory Instrument that would add the Life Sciences sector to Key National Infrastructure under the Public Order Act 2023 [2]. The Home Office proposal would place animal testing facilities in the same legal category as airports, motorways,

Today, in collaboration with Animal Rising, Dame Joanna Lumley has launched an animation showing conditions inside MBR Acres and the rescue of 18 beagle puppies in 2022. MBR Acres breeds beagles for use in animal testing, primarily toxicology. Earlier this week, five individuals were convicted of burglary in relation to the 2022 rescue [1]. 13 more are due to face charges in the same case across three separate trials in early 2026. Another three are due to stand trial for a

Defendants (L-R): Lewis Elliot, Ben Newman, Hannah Hunt, Nathan McGovern, and Eben Lazarus. After a 12-day trial at Cambridge Crown Court, five defendants have been convicted of burglary after deliberation lasting approximately 3 hours. The trial came after they rescued 18 beagle puppies from MBR Acres, a site breeding animals for testing, in December 2022 [1]. This is the first of four trials in this case, with 13 other individuals due to face charges of burglary, including

Claims Regarding Animal Testing In 2024, there were 2.64 million tests carried out on animals in the UK. 54% were experimental, and 2,646 individual experiments were on dogs. [1] A total of 1,651 individual dogs were used in these experiments. 1,317 of the experiments on dogs were repeated-dose toxicity testing, with 31% (408) of those lasting longer than 90 days. [2] 2025 YouGov polling suggested that: [3] 70% of UK adults would support legislation to end medical testing and

Three Animal Rising campaigners have been found guilty of criminal damage at Southwark Crown Court today (15/12/25). The charges arose from a peaceful protest, on 8 October 2022, that saw the front of gun and hunting shop William Evans in Central London covered with eco-friendly paint to depict scenes of nature and rewilding. [1] The action called on the UK Government to listen to public opinion and end hunting and shooting for sport, in order to protect wildlife and suppo

A breaking news story: after three successive failures to convict Animal Rising’s Grand National disruptors, the Crown Prosecution Service has today dropped a fourth upcoming Crown Court case, indicating a further two trials are also now likely to be dropped due to the low likelihood of a conviction. Three juries have now refused to convict Grand National protestors who chose to be tried at the Crown Court for public nuisance, after taking action to protect horses’ lives at t

A jury took just 51 minutes to unanimously declare five Animal Rising campaigners who ran onto the tracks of the 2023 Grand National not guilty of public nuisance  at Liverpool Crown Court today (13/11/25). This was the third of a series of five Grand National trials; after this third consecutive failure to convict, the CPS will now review whether the remaining trials will go to court with the next one currently due to start on 1/12/25. Not Guilty: Robert Gordon, Daniel Kidby

Four Animal Rising campaigners accused of public nuisance had their trial end with a hung jury last week (21/10/25) at Liverpool Crown Court. The charges were for their actions at the 2023 Grand National, which delayed the race and caused a media frenzy. [1] Today, (28/10/25) a retrial was scheduled for 30/11/26. In September, a group of six Grand National protestors were found not guilty of the same charge. [2] Last month (24/9/25), a group of six were found not guilty of th

Five Animal Rising campaigners have been sentenced at Bristol Magistrates Court today (23/10/25) after being found guilty of aggravated trespass. Each of them was given a 9-month conditional discharge, ordered to pay £200 compensation to Müller, and a £26 victim surcharge. Additional court costs between them came to £634. They initially had their cases dismissed after a different trial group facing the same charges was dismissed due to lack of evidence, but a successful appea

Nine campaigners charged with conspiracy to commit criminal damage entered not guilty pleas at Wolverhampton Crown Court today...