Government Lets Dogs Down, Approves New Beagle Breeding Facility in Yorkshire

Today is a deeply upsetting day for dogs. The government has just approved plans to build a new facility in the East Riding of Yorkshire that will breed beagles to be used in cruel animal tests. This heartless decision disregards the opinions of both the public and local authorities and condemns thousands of animals to be caged, mutilated and killed in experiments.

Back in November 2013, the East Riding of Yorkshire Council rightly rejected the planning application submitted by B&K Universal, a company that supplies animals to the unethical vivisection industry. Now, shamefully, the Secretary of State, Greg Clark, has overturned the council’s decision, despite hearing from over 35,000 compassionate PETA supporters and other campaign groups that urged him to reject B&K Universal’s appeal.

Breeding dogs for experiments supports a shameful trade and is something that belongs in the past, when we didn’t know that we had other options. No dog deserves to be bred on a factory farm in a barren, sterile and windowless prison with concrete floors and cold tiled walls, separated from hearth and home. The proposed facility doesn’t even include any outdoor runs for the puppies to exercise in.

When they’re old enough, the dogs will be delivered to a laboratory, like a piece of equipment, to be poisoned with pesticides, drugged or cut up in archaic experiments. Beagles are friendly, loyal and docile dogs. These qualities – which make them excellent family companions – are also the very reason why animal experimenters choose to use them for tests, exploiting their trusting nature.

Previous investigations of breeding “farms” in the UK have uncovered shocking conditions, including fighting, injuries and the killing of “surplus stock”. The sooner the whole B&K Universal operation is shut down, the better.

Thank you to everyone who spoke out against this horrific planning application. Today’s news is certainly a setback, but it’s not over yet. PETA will now look to challenge this decision to help save thousands of beagles from suffering – with your help, of course.