Thousands Join PETA In Opposing Expansion Of Yorkshire Beagle-Breeding Facility

For Immediate Release:

21 July 2014

Contact:

Ben Williamson +44 (0) 20 7837 6327, ext 229; [email protected]

More Than 25,000 Agree: Plans to Breed Beagles in Yorkshire for Deadly Experiments Must Be Killed and Buried

East Riding, Yorkshire – Despite being refused permission by the East Riding of Yorkshire Council last year to build a breeding facility that would send thousands of beagle puppies to laboratories for animal experiments, B&K Universal – the company behind the unethical proposal – has submitted an appeal to the UK Planning Inspectorate to try to overturn the council’s decision. PETA has fired off a letter – complete with more than 25,000 signatures from local residents and other concerned members of the public – urging the Planning Inspectorate to refuse permission for this facility.

“The council did the right thing last year in pushing to prevent the puppy farm expansion in East Riding by rejecting the original application, and PETA is calling on the Planning Inspectorate to show the same level of intelligence and make exactly the same decision”, says PETA UK Associate Director Mimi Bekhechi. “Beagles are friendly, loyal dogs who don’t deserve to be poisoned, drugged or cut open in cruel and wasteful experiments.”

As PETA warns in its letter, the proposed kennels present a barren, sterile environment for dogs who would be forced to live in a windowless building with concrete floors and tiled walls, and the kennels are unlikely to conform to the ideal standards set by the Home Office. Further expansion of the breeding facility would also have an adverse visual impact on the countryside and the surrounding area. Aside from being a blot on the community’s image, such expansion would generate a high level of noise and cause an increase in traffic as a result of the removal of dogs from the facility, which would undoubtedly disturb residents.

PETA’s letter to the Planning Inspectorate is available here. For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk.

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