News

Press releases & updates.

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

  • Second Guilty Verdict For Beagle Puppy Rescuers In Watershed Legal Case

    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, also at Peterborough Crown Court. • This is the third of four trials in this case. The first

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  • Not-Guilty Verdict For Beagle Puppy Rescuers In Landmark Legal Case

    • 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 offence [2]. The two other trials in this case are due to begin later this Spring. • This landmark legal

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  • Chris Packham, Lush Cosmetics, and Law Firms Lead Calls To Withdraw Anti-Protest Legislation

    • 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, and power st

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  • Dame Joanna Lumley and Animal Rising Launch Animation Calling For Closure of MBR Acres

    Animal Rising_Beagle Rescue Joanna Lumley.mp4 • 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 thr

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  • Guilty Verdict For Beagle Puppy Rescuers In Landmark Legal Case

    • 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

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  • Animal Testing Fact Sheet

    Claims Regarding Animal TestingIn 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 research on animals by

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  • Guilty: Verdict In for Hunting and Shooting Shop Protestors

    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 support the rewilding and

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  • CPS Drops Grand National Protest Cases After Juries Refuse to Convict – And Campaigners Say New Government Trial Reform Will Harm Protest Rights

    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 the world’s most famou

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  • Not Guilty: Unanimous Verdict for Grand National Protestors

    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. • 118 people were arrested at Aintree in 2023 for attempting

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  • Hung Jury: Another Court Victory for Animal Rising’s Grand National Protestors

    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 the same charge by a

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