Camp Beagle campaigners held a day of talks, music and peaceful protest outside MBR Acres in Huntingdon to mark two years since they set up base outside the dog breeding facility.
The event, called Standing on the Shoulders of Giants, raised awareness of the cruelty of animal experimentation which campaigners say creates meaningless scientific evidence for humans.
Instead, they are calling on the government to invest in modern science, using non-animal research methods, such as stem cell research and computer modelling, which they say creates better and more reliable results for use in humans.
On its social media channel Camp Beagle wrote: “Camp Beagle marks its second anniversary today. We have held a presence here continually, night and day, for two years and we will never give up until MBR Acres is closed down.”
Among speakers at the Camp Beagle two-year anniversary was former NHS clinical scientist Savita Nuitan, of Medicine Without Cruelty, an educational organisation dedicated to educating the public on the ineffectiveness of animal testing and the current modern alternatives such as stem cell research and organoids.
The event was also a chance to urge people to sign Camp Beagle’s latest petition calling on the government to ban toxicity testing of products like household bleach, cleaning products and weedkiller in beagles. Canada recently banned the use of animals for regulatory toxicity testing ban campaigners say they want to see the same tor the UK.
The two-year anniversary event at Camp Beagle came less than a week before a pivotal debate in Parliament on Tuesday 4 July on the subject of human-specific medical research techniques.
The Westminster Hall debate, led by Steve McCabe MP, has been tabled in a bid to move away from outdated animal research and look to the future, where new cutting-edge technologies can transform patients’ lives, relieve the pressure on the NHS and boost the economy.
Mr McCabe said: “We urgently need policymakers to act so we can make this vision a reality.”
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