News

Press releases & updates.

The latest from our campaigns, investigations, and courtrooms. For media enquiries contact press@animalrising.org.

  • Victory for Protest Rights as Supreme Court Rejects Public Nuisance Appeal

    A Supreme Court ruling today (14/07/26) [1] upheld the acquittals of six anti-dairy campaigners who disrupted dairy giant Müller’s Droitwich site in 2022. Animal Rising argues the decision marks a crucial victory for protest rights in the UK, setting a precedent that public nuisance laws cannot be used sweepingly to prevent peaceful protest.[The defendants outside court in May 2025] • In September 2022, Animal Rising (then Animal Rebellion) launched a two-week campaign of protest against dairy g

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  • Horse Racing Protestors Acquitted After Repeated Jury Refusals to Convict

    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 attem

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  • Conviction In Historic Burglary Case For Rescue Of Beagle Dogs From Animal Testing

    • 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 down MBR Acres, the UK’s only facility breeding dogs for an

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  • Second Historic Acquittal In Animal Testing Dog Rescue Trial

    • 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 professional scrutiny in recent years. • This concludes the four trials in this case, with defendants i

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  • 50+ MPs, Celebrities, and Organisations Call For Immediate Closure Of MBR Acres

    • 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 rehoming of all the beagles there. • This comes after years of campaigning against the site, with more than 170,000 pe

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  • 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 estimate

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  • Suspended sentences handed down for anti-dairy campaigners

    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, after taking part in

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  • Animal Rising Campaigners Sentenced as Group Reaffirms Focus on Climate Justice and Food System Change

    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 £150. • The camp

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  • Suspended Sentences in Landmark Beagle Rescue Case

    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 suffering, and resul

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  • No Prison For Beagle Rescuers After Guilty Verdict In Burglary Case

    • 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 third of four

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