In the early hours of Tuesday, December 20, activists broke into the MBR Acres animal testing breeding facility in Cambridgeshire in the UK. There, they freed 18 beagle puppies, but police seized two others, named Love and Libby.
Rescuers, along with thousands of members of the public, campaigned for their release. However, days later, Cambridgeshire police department confirmed that it had returned both dogs to the MBR breeding facility.
“We recognize the strong feelings this issue has raised in many people, however, we had no legal justification to retain the dogs and therefore were compelled to return them,” Cambridgeshire Constabulary wrote on Facebook, adding that it did so for the puppies’ “wellbeing.”
“Fourteen people were arrested, interviewed in connection with burglary and aggravated trespass offences, and released on conditional bail until next year,” the department added.
More than 1,000 people flocked to the comment section to let their disappointment at the news be known. Many accused the police and breeding facility of having “blood on their hands.”
Animal Rebellion, the group behind the rescue operation, was similarly “outraged” by the decision. “Evidence supplied to the police showed inadequate bedding facilities, dogs left to sit in their own excrement and urine, and nothing for dogs to use for play,” the organization wrote online.
Now, Love and Libby “will face either euthanasia for being ‘contaminated property’, or endure a lifetime of suffering in animal experiments,” it added.
Animal Rebellion had organized protests outside of the Cambridgeshire Constabulary HQ, and sponsored a petition that called for the two dogs to be released. At the time of writing, it had gathered near to 35,000 signatures.

UK’s largest open rescue
Animal Rebellion claims this is the biggest open rescue to ever happen in the UK. Activists potentially face up to 10 years in prison for their actions.
“We rescued as many dogs as we could so they can live a long happy life with loving families,” Dan Kidby, co-founder of Animal Rebellion, told Plant Based News (PBN). “The rescuers then handed themselves in to face a trial by jury to give the general public the opportunity to find us not guilty and deal a devastating blow to the animal testing industry.”
MBR Acres controversy
MBR Acres is owned by Marshall BioResources, which describes itself as a “global provider of purpose-bred animals for biomedical research and related services.” It has historically bred ferrets, piglets, and kittens, as well as dogs, for experiments.
At its Cambridgeshire site alone, MBR Acres breeds around 2,000 beagles a year, selling them on for testing both in the UK and abroad.
Before being sold, puppies are kept in “horrific” conditions for around 16 weeks, Animal Rebellion says. Its investigators found dogs in cages playing in their own excrement and desperately trying to interact with rescuers.
During the action, the animal rights group wore t-shirts that said “Put Animal Testing On Trial” and “What Would You Do If This Was Your Dog?”.
It’s certainly not the first time MBR Acres has been under the spotlight. Celebrities including Ricky Gervais and Peter Egan have spoken out about the facility’s treatment of animals (and animal experiments in general). Last year, musician Will Young handcuffed himself to the gates of MBR Acres to raise awareness of the issue.
Dog testing in the UK
The UK reports conducting more animal tests than any other country in Europe, but much of the public is unaware of the extent of the matter.
In 2021, 4,277 regulated tests were carried out on dogs in the UK. Of those, 4,016 were beagles. All of these experiments were approved by the UK government.
Beagles are used for tests because they are small and docile, meaning they are relatively easy to exploit.
Dogs are often used for toxicity testing, which sees them force-fed or injected with chemicals. If they don’t die from the poison, they may be killed by asphyxiation so that researchers can conduct autopsies.
Do animal tests work?
Animal testing has been repeatedly shown to be unreliable, as well as cruel.
Around three million tests are carried out on live animals each year in the UK. This is despite the fact that animal-tested drugs have an approximately 90 percent failure rate in human trials.
Cruelty Free International, which campaigns against animal testing globally, says there are a number of viable alternatives available. These include the use of cell cultures, human tissue, and computer models.
“Animal Rebellion is calling for the end to animal testing,” Kidby told PBN. “So we as a society can live up to our values as a nation of animal lovers.”
Those interested can sign a petition to shut down MBR Acres here, or donate to Animal Rebellion’s rescue efforts here.
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This article was first published on December 20, 2022. It was updated on December 30 to include new information on Love and Libby’s return to MBR Acres.
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Hero’s! Please keep us updated with news on the trail! I would love to offer one of the beagles a home if needed!
Losers! please keep us updated how much prison time these creeps get.Worse thing is due to their stupid action these poor beagles don’t stand a chance..You LOSE supporters when do this crap..You have the right to have your voice heard.You have the right to vote.You DO NOT have the right to steal, damage property or obstruct people’s lives.Direct action MUST STOP.
I feel enoughisenough is actually the manager of mbr acres.
Support the activists! Always!
Never Direct action must stop
I’ll be happy to foster a couple of those precious puppies!
They should be given a medal not jail time. The b**#tards torturing the animals should be locked up and experimented on!
To rescue sweet and loving Beagles is one of the most honorable things to do in life. These animal rights activists should be given great respect and honorable recognition for rescuing adorable Beagles from evil scientists who torture the precious Beagles in the name of a perverted science. I love Beagles and I love the brave and very honorable animal rights activists who rescue these lovely Beagles.
This was not “freeing” but theft.
This is the problem with capitalists. A living creature should not be classified as property. They have their own wants, needs, and disires. They can dream and think on their own; why is it deemed okay for these animals to be tested on and treated this way? If you can’t look at another living creature and see that they deserve to live their lives free from being literally tortured, there is something deeply wrong with you and you should go to therapy.
Do it legally moron.Go through the courts and legislation.NO there is something wrong with YOU you urban idiot.Get therapy before someone gets annoyed by your stupid BS
There is clearly something very wrong with the “Enoughisenough” group, you have your opinion, there is absolutely no reason for you to call others idiots, morons etc just because they also have an opinion. If you cant respond with respect then don’t respond at all, you’re only demonstrating that you are a “moron” and “idiot”
EIE is an animal abuser of some kind or just a troll- they go all over vegan sites with their BS
Going down the legal route would take years and a ton of red tape to cut through. The gvmnt are already reducing human rights so what makes you think they would give a damm about some dogs. I say well done to them and keep up the good work
The wonderful animal rights activists were liberating the precious Beagles from the evil scientists.
I don’t understand why doing the right thing is considered illegal. Nobody should be facing jail time for rescuing someone from being literally tortured every day of their lives.
Dah it’s called civilized society where laws are enacted by voting not the whims of a bunch of urban radical animal rights retards
By any chance do you vote Tory? The utter bullshine and negative repulsive responses from you is just foul. Animals have as much rights to live as anyone, they have the rights to be free, not condemned to painful abuse and experimentation resulting in murder. These corporations are making huge profits from animals, the government is also making profits and as for our legal system it’s corrupt. So get you head out of your arse, get yourself arrested and see how you get treated, but perhaps you just prefer to sit on the sidelines, on a comfy sofa spouting hate
You are a retard for insulting the brave and most honorable animal rights activists.
You make me sick.These childish acts of of criminality and direct action do nothing more then drive people away from your cause .Hopefully these two idiots spend a long time in prison..Grow up.
You sound such an angry person….maybe the scientists should cut open your skull and see what’s going on in your brain to see why you think the way you do compared to other compassionate human beings. Daily experiments on you as clearly there is something wrong with you or maybe you are one of those scientists or breeders making money
You are an idiot for wishing evil on the beautiful and kind hearted animal rights activists. You are a worthless coward who fails to stand up for the rights of precious Beagles.
They should be praised not jailed.
Total HEROES..JAIL THE BA****DS
WHO HAD THEM IN THESE HORRIBLE CONDITIONS..!!
Total heroes and saviours. 200% support from me and my family. No way should we use and abuse animals for any sort of experimentation, sports etc. Animals should be allowed to live a life of peace and grace. Sending love to Love and Libby and to these heroes
Good for them well done keep up the good work ❤️
You are heroes and should be treated as such, not criminals.
10 years….. for rescuing these poor defenceless animals from evil. A paedophile, murderer or rapist get less.
Well done to the rescuers, im 100% behind you 👏
End Animal Testing in the UK, pleaseLove and Libby and put in safe shelters!
The claim that we’re all animal lovers in the UK is shown to be a hypocrite statement by any actions that involves animal expoiltion whether it’s through animal experimentation, consuming animal products and using other services that expoilt animals. If you are non vegan you are supporting animal expoiltion so you’re a hypocrite.
If that ‘ facility was a BOARDING or breeding or training kennels with dogs existing in those horrendous conditions, it would be closed down immediately by the RSPCA. Actually, if anyone let their pets live in that shit they’d be prosecuted and rightly so. Anyone who works there is a monster.
As far as the other 2 dogs being contaminated property..💩.utter bullshit.
If thats the case, anyone who is employed by that company is contaminated, spiritually and physically.
Science and its big money making agenda have much to answer for as recent events clearly show. They have blood on their hands.
Unnecessarily cruel and unacceptable tests.
Lord Jesus Christ,pray ye save your beautiful animal creatures from evilbpractice,please release them from this inhumane prison, give them new homes Lord ,its so heartbreaking to see how low the morale dtsnding has become. S o S.
Thank you for saving them. They’ve done an amazing thing. saving these poor dogs Well done..They shouldn’t be punished. 10 years that is ridiculous. People who torture & murder animals get away with so much. All animal testing needs to be stopped. Humans are nothing like animals. It’s heart breaking.
Well done you brave people, the only way anything for humans can be tested, is on humans… We do not have the right to treat animals like this.
I would do 20yrs if it were me. Big shout out!! Well done !! 💚💚👏👏👏👏👊👊🙌🙌🙌
Heroes ✊️✊️✊️Always support vegan activists.
I love what you do. I pass Camp Beagle quite often as I work in the area and have stopped a couple of times and met some of you. Definitely my kind of people. Excellent work rescuing those dogs and highlighting the issue. Never give up, the majority support what you do even if most of them are too scared to say it. Love and plant-based delights from South Cambridgeshire x
Thethese guys will be treated like the heroes they are in prison well done them for rescuing these poor defenceless animals !!!
Protecting animals should NEVER be a crime
What? Rescuing innocent animals from torture is worse than rape, paedophilia, murder, child abuse?
This country is completely wrong on every count!!!!
They deserve a medal for being so brave and awesome!!! Go guys. Rescue more if you dare!!
Keep up the good work guys I’m a pensioner i have two chihuahuas and i absolutely adore them 🙏🏼🐕🐕🐕🐕🦴🦴🦴🤞🤞🤞🤞👍👍👍👍👍
This is one of those times the public HAS to get behind these people & give total support. The last 2 dogs need freedom immediately & a chance 2 recover from life & trauma at the facility. This needs plastering all over the TV as a Christmas special?….. Save these last 2 dogs, get them a home 4 Christmas(?) . More likely to get more support. The rescuers/activists should not be sentenced. They have saved lives(from something hidious). Hopefully this deed gives them the media platform to raise public awareness. Best of luck.
“Animal testing has been repeatedly shown to be unreliable”. Source? Or did you just pull that out of nowhere.
It’s not these dogs that are docile, it’s the so called humans who does this to them.
Stop breaking the law
It’s the nasty people doing this to poor inocent dogs that need 10 years in prison, the people who saved these doggies are hero’s, it’s absolutely disgusting that we do this testing on man’s best friends, sickening.
Dogs are the most devoted animals to mankind and best bodies. They are intelligent reliable sensitive loving and caring for people who treat them right and even for those who do not . We have a huge lesson to learn from them when it comes to learn about such qualities.
Stop the fucking popups and i might be able to read
There’s something very wrong happening when compassionate people are charged for trying to save lives. It’s time to step back from the usual kneejerk response to sentence people when they’re freeing animals from intolerable pain and suffering. I salute these heroes.
They did the right thing we should not be testing on animals
Should get a medal never mind anything else.
Omg 10yrs wow were to start .I’ll start with commensence .argumentation why thay should not face criminal charges..any one who thinks these people are criminals well thay should be happy to take the beagles place .animal testing is so out dated I can’t believe testing on animals is not a crime.these people who did this are brave herorict and what the hell is wrong with the system and society. God I hope our kids kids live in a world with a population with more commensence .If I was to kill 10 dogs I would prop just get a fine and community service.. well I might be wrong but killing and torturing humans is wrong yea so what’s the difference why not treat living things as one.. to me its crazy imagin if we praised those who light fires and criminalize those who fight fires..
.anyway wishthose involved my support and there close family members support to those dogs thay r hero’s.
Well done proud of you
Hero’s why is this cruel practice still continuing? .I support them all the way Humans are supposed to be intelligent Do a few experiments on them
Medals should be awarded to these two amazing men. They knew what was right, and they did something about it. Jail time is insanity. Common sense will tell you that.
Retards. Know the law ?
Thankyou so much, those poor dogs, makes me sick to the stomach.
Cruel bastards kill the scientist cunts.
Rescue all the testing animals and lastly burn down the testing facilities. Each time new animal testing facility are up, go and burn them down. Telling them and Government won’t work
The only thing the heroes did wrong was to think there is any justice in the world. The animals should have been hidden and the activists kept silent even if the cops arrested them. Talk only about conditions at the lab at your trial if it looks like they can prove you did it. And NEVER tell them where the dogs are- say you don’t know. They people who say you hurt the cause never do anything to help animls