Not-Guilty Verdict For Beagle Puppy Rescuers In Landmark Legal Case
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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].
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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.
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This landmark legal case is the first time “Open Rescue” has seen a courtroom inside the UK; all defendants in the trial relied on the defence of “honesty” and denied the element of dishonesty required to prove guilt in charges under the Theft Act 1968 [3] [4].
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Animal Rising has claimed that this verdict is “a clear public voice condemning MBR Acres and animal testing, more broadly.”
Following more than a week of trial, Louisa Hillwood, Thomas Cusick, Kat Chan, and Alan Guthrie have been acquitted of burglary by a jury of 12 of their peers at Cambridge Crown Court.
Speaking after the verdict, Louisa Hillwood, 31, an Operations Manager, from Australia, living in Hackney, said:
“A jury of 12 of our peers has made abundantly clear to the world what many already knew: the British public sides with those rescuing dogs and not those needlessly and cruelly testing on them.
This nation of animal lovers has shown its true colours and chose to declare that it is perfectly lawful to rescue beagle puppies from a hellish fate in the animal testing industry.”
During the trial, the jury heard evidence as to each defendant’s beliefs about animal testing and MBR Acres, more specifically. Defendants described what they believed to be a “bleeding license”, which enables the facility to conduct “terminal blood testing” on animals, whilst also harvesting “bio-products” from healthy dogs on site; the existence of this license – properly a Project Licence – was confirmed by the Crown during their case.
Defendants also described reading about the ineffectiveness of, and the lack of empirical basis for, animal testing in sources such as the British Medical Journal, Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, and the National Institute of Health [5].
Three defendants, Ms Hillwood, Ms Chan, and Mr Guthrie, were represented by Sarah-Jane Ewart, Margo Munro Kerr, and Meghan Curran (All of One Pump Court Chambers) respectively. Thomas Cusick represented himself.
Thomas Cusick, 26, a Campaigner, from Manchester, said:
“We hope this verdict sends a clear message to MBR Acres that their horrific practice of breeding dogs for utterly unnecessary and absolutely cruel experiments is being firmly rejected by those living in the local area.
We hope this verdict puts pressure on the Home Office to step in and save the lives of the puppies we couldn’t save.”
A petition calling on the Home Office to shut down MBR Acres and rehome all the beagles organised by Animal Rising has gathered more than 100,000 signatures [6]. Further trials in this case are scheduled to begin on 26th January and 23rd February.
Well done to all this is great news I hope the appropriate people take notice of this. Time all this cruelty was banned world wide. Using animals for testing is just disgusting why not use all the murdering scum in prison they deserve to be hurt not innocent animals.