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 six further charged with handling stolen goods, over the course of the coming months.
This landmark legal case is the first time the “Open Rescue” tactic has seen a courtroom inside the UK; all defendants in the case relied on the defence of “honesty” and, unsuccessfully, denied the element of dishonesty required to prove guilt in charges under the Theft Act 1968 [2] [3].
Following more than two weeks of trial, Eben Lazarus, Ben Newman, Hannah Hunt, Nathan McGovern, and Lewis Elliot have been convicted of burglary by a jury of 12 of their peers at Cambridge Crown Court.
Speaking after the verdict, Ben Newman, 35, Animal Rising Co-Director, from Hackney, said:
“The reality is that 18 beagle puppies are alive and free today because we took action. No verdict can erase that fact. This case has shone a national spotlight on MBR Acres, and the cruelty of breeding dogs for experimentation, and the public response has been overwhelming.
While the court focused on technical questions of law, people across the country are asking a far bigger question: why is this facility still being allowed to operate at all?”
During the trial, the jury heard evidence as to each defendant’s beliefs about animal testing and MBR Acres, more specifically. Defendants described what they believed to be a “bleeding license”, which enables the facility to conduct “terminal blood testing” on animals, whilst also harvesting “bio-products” from healthy dogs on site.
Defendants also described reading about the ineffectiveness of, and the lack of empirical basis for, animal testing in sources such as the British Medical Journal, Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, and the National Institute of Health [4].
Three defendants, Mr Lazarus, Ms Hunt, and Mr Elliot, were represented by Barristers Maria Liddiard, One Pump Court, Sam March, 9KBW, and Rosalind Comyn, Matrix Chambers, respectively. Ben Newman and Nathan McGovern represented themselves.
Hannah Hunt, 26, a Mental Health Worker from Cumbria, now living in Brighton, said:
“I respect the jury’s verdict, but I remain proud that 18 dogs were rescued from a life of experimentation and are now safe. We acted out of compassion and concern for their welfare, not for personal gain.
This case has prompted many people to look more closely at what happens inside places like MBR Acres, and I hope that increased public scrutiny leads to a more humane and transparent approach to science in the future.”
A petition calling on the Home Office to shut down MBR Acres and rehome all the beagles organised by Animal Rising has gathered nearly 39,000 signatures [5]. Further trials in this case are scheduled to begin on 5th January, 26th January, and 23rd February.
