The Truth About MBR Acres
Everything on this page is sourced from publicly available records, court documents, parliamentary questions, and verified reports. These are facts, not opinions.
MBR Acres: The Facility
Location
Sawtry Way (B1090), Wyton, Cambridgeshire, PE28 2DT. A commercial breeding facility concealed behind hedgerows in rural Cambridgeshire.
Purpose
Breeds approximately 2,000 beagle puppies every year for the sole purpose of selling them to laboratories for animal testing. These dogs are born to suffer.
No Independent Oversight
There is no independent oversight of conditions inside the facility. The public has no right to inspect or verify the welfare of the animals held within.
The Green Hill Connection
Green Hill, Brescia, Italy
The company behind MBR Acres previously operated a beagle breeding facility called Green Hill in Brescia, Italy. In 2012, Italian authorities raided the facility following reports of severe animal mistreatment.
Two Juries Said Not Guilty
First Trial
Rescuers who openly removed beagle puppies from MBR Acres stood trial before a jury of ordinary members of the public. The jury returned a verdict of not guilty, finding that the act of rescuing the puppies was not dishonest.
Second Trial
In a subsequent trial, a second group of rescuers faced the same charges. Once again, a jury of ordinary people found them not guilty. Two separate juries agreed: rescuing suffering animals is not dishonest.
Public Opposition
Modern Alternatives Exist
Animal testing is not a scientific necessity. Modern technology provides better, more reliable alternatives that do not require animal suffering.
Organ-on-a-Chip
Microfluidic devices that simulate human organ function. Provide more accurate results than animal models because they use actual human cells and tissue.
AI Modelling
Machine learning models can predict drug toxicity and efficacy from molecular structure, trained on existing human data rather than animal experiments.
Advanced Cell Cultures
3D cell cultures and organoids grown from human stem cells provide human-relevant data that animal models fundamentally cannot replicate.
UK Animal Testing Statistics
The UK remains one of the largest users of animals in scientific research in Europe. Millions of scientific procedures on animals are carried out every year in British laboratories.
Dogs are classified as specially protected animals under UK law, yet continue to be used in testing. Beagles are the breed of choice because of their docile, trusting nature.
Despite growing public opposition and advances in non-animal technologies, the number of dog experiments has not seen the reduction that the science supports.
Timeline of Key Events
Green Hill Raided in Italy
Authorities raided the Green Hill beagle breeding facility in Brescia, Italy. Thousands of dogs were found in deplorable conditions.
Green Hill Executives Convicted
Three executives of Green Hill were convicted of animal cruelty. 6,023 dogs had died at the facility. Operations subsequently relocated.
MBR Acres Exposed
Public attention focused on MBR Acres in Wyton, Cambridgeshire, as the UK successor to Green Hill breeding operations.
170,000+ Petition Signatures
A public petition demanding the closure of MBR Acres gathered over 170,000 signatures, demonstrating overwhelming public opposition.
Animal Sentience Act Passed
The UK Parliament passed the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act, formally recognising animals as sentient beings in UK law.
First Jury Acquittal
In the first trial of rescuers, a jury returned a not guilty verdict, finding that the rescue of puppies from MBR Acres was not dishonest.
Second Jury Acquittal
A second jury trial again returned not guilty verdicts for rescuers, reinforcing the precedent that ordinary people support open rescue.
33+ Companies Cut Ties
More than 33 companies ended their business relationships with MBR Acres following public pressure and ethical concerns.
The Evidence Is Clear
The facts speak for themselves. Now it is time to act.