TO BREED BEAGLE DOGS FOR EXPERIMENTS
INDEPENDENT
6 June 2015 by Mark Leftly
Queen guitarist Brian May and Peter Egan, a star of Downton Abbey and 80s sitcom Ever Decreasing Circles, have called on the government to block planning permission to breed beagle dogs for experiments.
Medical dog breeder Yorkshire Evergreen launched an appeal against a council decision to block its expansion plans in Grmiston, East Yorkshire, last year. Ministers have until 18 June to decide whether to uphold the decision.
Mr [Dr] May, who has previously campaigned against badger culling, said: “There is no justification for forcing dogs to suffer in experiments. Please do the right thing and reject these cruel plans.”
Mr Egan added: “The fate of hundreds of dogs hangs in the balance. With science moving away from crude animal tests, it makes no sense to approve these plans and consign man’s best friend to a life of suffering in the laboratory.”
The plans would see a farm built in Grimston, where dogs and other animals would be bred and sold to laboratories. Yorkshire Evergreen is owned by US animal supplier Marshall BioResources.
National Anti-Vivisection Society chairman Jan Creamer said: “Brian May and Peter Egan’s support comes at a crucial time, as Yorkshire Evergreen’s unwanted and unnecessary plans are considered once again. The NAVS urges the Secretary of State to dismiss these deadly plans and do the right thing in the name of science, the public and the animals who will be destined to suffer if the facility goes ahead.”
More than 3,500 dogs a year are experimented on in the UK. A government source said that ministers had yet to decide on whether to refuse planning permission