From the Brown Dog to the Beagles: Why We Marched Today
Last Saturday, we marched for the dogs.
We gathered at a small statue tucked away in Battersea Park — the Brown Dog Memorial.
It was a particularly poignant place to begin the first Save the Dogs UK London march because this isn’t the first time people have taken to the streets of London to question the use of dogs in experiments.
More than a century ago, a little brown terrier became the unlikely symbol of one of Britain’s fiercest debates about animal experimentation.
The original Brown Dog memorial was erected in Battersea in 1906 following controversy over the vivisection of a brown terrier at University College London. The inscription also remembered 232 dogs vivisected there during 1902 and ended with a question to the people of England:
“How long shall these things be?”
The memorial became the focus of demonstrations, clashes and what became known as the Brown Dog Riots. The original statue was eventually removed in 1910. A new Brown Dog memorial was erected in Battersea Park in 1985, dedicated not only to that little terrier but to the continuing struggle against animal experimentation.
And today, in 2026, we stood beside him again.
More than a century later
Last Saturday, supporters of Save the Dogs UK gathered at the Brown Dog before walking approximately four miles through London towards Parliament, with stops including Buckingham Palace, the Royal Society and Downing Street.
It was peaceful. It was lawful. And most importantly, it was about awareness.
Because one of the most shocking things about this campaign is how many people simply don’t know that beagles are still being bred specifically for use in laboratory experiments here in Britain.
At MBR Acres in Wyton, Cambridgeshire, approximately 2,000 beagles are bred every year to be sold to laboratories. Save the Dogs UK says 4,016 procedures involving beagles were carried out in UK laboratories in a single year.
These aren’t numbers that should simply disappear into a report.
They are dogs. Beagles. The same gentle, trusting dogs we meet in parks, see curled up on sofas and welcome into our homes as members of our families.
Why Save the Dogs UK exists
Save the Dogs UK is a peaceful, grassroots campaign with three clear aims to end the use of dogs in testing in the UK, to champion modern non-animal science that can replace it, and to save the MBR beagles.
This is not an anti-science campaign. In fact, that distinction matters enormously.
The argument is that science can move forward without leaving compassion behind. New approaches including human cell-based systems, organ models, computer modelling and AI are increasingly part of the scientific landscape. The Government itself has committed to accelerating alternatives and phasing out animal testing in all but exceptional circumstances, although it has not set a date for ending the use of dogs.
So the question isn’t whether we want medical progress.
Of course we do.
The question is whether, as science advances, we should also be demanding better, more human-relevant methods that don’t require dogs to suffer.
Parliament has already heard us
Last year, more than 121,000 people signed a Parliamentary petition calling for an end to testing on dogs and other animals for products intended for human use.
That petition reached Parliament. On 27 April 2026 it was debated in Westminster Hall after receiving 121,854 signatures. That was an extraordinary achievement.
But a Parliamentary debate isn’t the end of a campaign. It is another beginning.
The petition has now closed, which means the next stage depends on keeping the issue visible — writing to MPs, asking questions, sharing information and making sure this subject doesn’t quietly disappear from public attention.
Today’s march was part of something bigger
Our walk through London today was also an act of solidarity with campaigners across the Atlantic.
The March to Abolish Animal Testing began a 207-mile journey from Albany, New York, to Marshall BioResources in North Rose, New York.
Marshall BioResources also owns MBR Acres in Cambridgeshire.
The American march will take 14 days. On 26 September, as campaigners reach Marshall BioResources in New York, Save the Dogs UK supporters will march in Huntingdon towards the gates of MBR Acres.
Two countries. One company. One message.
And there is evidence that peaceful pressure can bring change.
Earlier this year, Ridglan Farms in Wisconsin, a large US breeder of beagles for research, agreed to close, with more than 2,000 dogs transferred to rescue organisations. Save the Dogs UK believes the same kind of peaceful, negotiated outcome should be possible here.
What can you do?
You don’t have to march four miles through London to make a difference. You can start at home.
Write to your MP. Save the Dogs UK has created a tool that helps you find your MP and prepare a letter in just a few minutes.
Talk about it. Share the facts. Share this blog. Tell someone who doesn’t know that beagles are still being bred for laboratory use in Britain.
Follow and support the campaign. Public awareness matters because an issue becomes much harder for decision-makers to ignore when more people understand what is happening.
Join peaceful events. There are marches, vigils, local events and opportunities to distribute information around the country.
And perhaps most importantly, don’t assume someone else will speak for them.
The previous Parliamentary petition gathered 121,854 signatures. Those signatures helped take this conversation into Westminster.
Now we need to keep it there.
