Vets urged to be vigilant after beagle puppies stolen from breeding site

Vets have been urged to contact police if beagle puppies suspected to have been stolen from a controversial breeding facility are brought into their practices.

The appeal comes after eight animals were stolen in a raid on the MBR Acres site at Wyton, near Huntingdon, where beagles are bred for use in biomedical research, earlier this week.

Cambridgeshire Police believe the puppies, which will all be younger than 16 weeks old, are likely to have been moved quickly to would-be adopters following the raid on Tuesday night (29 September).

Microchip details

Clinicians are being asked to be vigilant for the following microchip details and to contact the force if they see them, referencing Operation Staithes. The gender and chip details are:

Females: M/C -900046000311696; M/C- 900046000311775 and M/C- 900046000311876.

Males: M/C- 900046000311698; M/C- 900046000311691; M/C – 900046000311673; M/C – 900046000311794 and M/C – 900046000311615.

Officers have also asked clinicians to be vigilant for any signs of wounds that suggest de-chipping, which would amount to an offence of animal mutilation, has occurred.

Good health

All of the puppies are said to have been in good health at the time they were stolen, though they have not had any vaccinations.

A 43-year-old woman from Inverness was arrested on suspicion of burglary in connection with the incident and was subsequently bailed until mid-December.

Camp Beagle campaigners have maintained a continuous presence outside the facility for more than five years as part of their effort to halt the use of beagles in research and have the site closed down.

MBR Acres has said the site’s activities are lawful and insist they are committed to meeting welfare and operations standards.