‘I live in a camp next to a puppy breeding facility – I can hear them whimpering’

For the past five years, John Curtin has heard the sounds of dogs whining and whimpering.

The 63-year-old is a long-term resident of Camp Beagle, a legal protest camp outside a licensed puppy breeding facility for dogs used in lab research.

Campaigners pitched the camp in 2021, calling for the closure of MBR Acres in Wyton, Cambridgeshire.

‘When I found out about this spontaneous camp, I gulped,’ Curtin, a decades-long animal welfare activist, tells Metro.

‘I kept away for the first week – if I go to this thing, I’m going to get trapped.’

Now, Curtin is one of the first faces new camp-goers see and one of its ‘spokespeople’.

Fellow camp-goer Sole Iriart, a midwife from Spain, says people travel from as far as Tasmania and Canada to join their ranks – even for a short time.

‘It’s quite a special place,’ she says.

On October 6, Curtin offered a woman who popped by the camp a cup of tea.

Then he saw eight police officers walking towards him.

He was arrested for conspiracy to burgle after a ‘number of dogs’ were allegedly taken from MBR Acres in September.

‘I knew they were going to come for me because I’m the face of Camp Beagle,’ he says.

‘The police battered me, forced me to the ground, because I was trying to sort care for Pepe [his dog], because they were going to take me away.’

The campaigner denies wrongdoing and has been released on bail.

Police have not received a complaint about his arrest.

‘We are committed to detaining people safely and respectfully, and detainees are given the opportunity to complain,’ the force told Metro.

‘What do those puppies dream of?’

Camp Beagle alleges the dogs bred at MBR Acres are cooped up in windowless sheds lit for 12 hours a day by artificial light as the outdoor area is ‘never used’.

‘The dogs have never seen a tree. They’ve never seen grass,’ Curtin says. ‘What the hell do those puppies dream of?’

Undercover footage filmed in 2021 and 2022 appeared to show dogs left up to 16 hours without human interaction.

The puppies were observed eating each other’s faeces and pacing, seen by researchers as a sign of distress in captive animals.

MBR Acres transports puppies as young as 16 weeks to medical laboratories to be given test chemicals for months, campaigners claim.

‘We’re on the side of the road,’ Curtin says. ‘We can hear the sounds of the dogs. We see the death vans drive out. It’s horrendous.’

Chris Magee, head of policy at the non-profit Understanding Animal Research, tells Metro that footage provided by the camp is ‘misleading’.

‘What MBR breeds is very healthy dogs – unhealthy dogs give unusable data,’ he adds.

‘The outside runs aren’t used anymore, but that’s because of the camp. The animals are distressed by the shouting from the megaphones.’

But looking back over the last half-decade, Curtin has no regrets.

‘Imagine lighting a fire,’ he says. ‘That’s what we did five years ago. You have to keep this fire burning.’

‘Animal welfare is the absolute foundation of our operations’

Marshall BioResources, a supplier of animals for biomedical research,owns MBR Acres.

The company accused Camp Beagle campaigners of ‘misinformation’, ‘trespassing’ and ‘stealing’ dogs.

‘Animal welfare is the absolute foundation of our operations,’ it said.

‘The facts are that the dogs at MBR are cared for every day of the year by trained staff. Their living spaces are rigorously cleaned, while their health and behaviour are closely monitored to ensure high standards of welfare.

‘The dogs live in carefully managed, compatible social groups, allowing them to socialise naturally while ensuring their safety and wellbeing.

‘The kennel buildings are professionally maintained and equipped with environmental control systems that regulate temperature, ventilation and air quality, providing a stable and comfortable environment throughout the year.

‘Sleeping areas are equipped with appropriate bedding.’

Inspections have found no critical issues at the site.

MBR Acres added: ‘While we respect the right to peaceful protest, we will not tolerate any form of intimidation, harassment, or unlawful behaviour.’

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency told Metro that it is calling for ‘alternatives’ to animal testing.

‘We’ve offered to review non-animal study data ahead of full marketing applications, helping developers and organisations using these approaches to build the robust evidence needed to demonstrate medicines’ safety and efficacy.’

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