Will Young handcuffs himself to gates of beagle breeding facility in protest against animal testing
The singer protested at MBC Acres, where dogs are bred for animal testing laboratories
Will Young handcuffed himself to the gates of a dog breeding facility today (November 16) in protest of their animal testing practices.
The pop singer was photographed at MBR Acres in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire this afternoon, showing solidarity with protesters from the campaign ‘Camp Beagle’ which is calling for the facility to be shut down.
In the picture, the ‘Leave Right Now’ singer was holding a sign that read “Cambridgeshire famous for beagle torture thanks to MBR”.
MBR, known fully as Marshall BioResources, breeds between 1,600 and 2,000 beagles per year, with the dogs then brought to animal testing laboratories around the UK at around 16 weeks old.
The singer shared a video to his Instagram story in which he said: “So hopefully the police will arrive and I’ll get arrested.”
He continued: “I’m doing this to bring attention to this hideous place, and I just feel like no one’s paying attention.
“We are all dog lovers, I’m a dog lover, there are so many famous people who are dog lovers – please I urge you to see what’s going on here, things need to be done.”
The pop singer also said that a drone was flying above him, to which he replied “hello I’m famous!” Police were also seen talking to Young in some pictures.
The ‘Evergreen singer’ singer told Metro: “I wanted to bring attention to animal testing and the fact that this is a puppy farm that farms over 2000 beagle puppies a year to be sent out to their inevitable torture and death. People do not know about it in this country and that is why I’ve handcuffed myself to the gates.”
He later uploaded a photo to his Twitter showing him holding protest signs and standing with fellow campaigners.
According to the PETA website, between 1600 and 2000 beagles are bred for medical testing each year.
It said that dogs are administered drugs, pesticides, or other toxic chemicals by gavage – which means chemicals are pumped into their stomach via a tube. “Instead of receiving love and affection, these dogs will experience side effects such as vomiting, tremors, and raised temperatures. At the end of the test, experimenters will kill and dissect the dogs,” the website reads.
The current UK law requires all new medicines to be tested on two animals before going to market — one rodent and one non-rodent – which is often a dog.