Animal Rising activists wore t-shirts with ‘Animal testing on trial’ and ‘What would you do if this was your dog?’ as they broke into a facility that breeds Beagles – Eben Lazarus said he believed the dogs were being ‘abused’ in ‘disgusting’ conditions
An activist accused of burglary believed Beagle puppies would die painfully if he failed to ‘rescue’ them from a facility that breeds dogs for testing. Eben Lazarus, 25, told jurors it was “the morally right thing to do” as he gave evidence at Cambridge Crown Court on Friday (December 5), adding: “Any decent person would agree this is a disgusting way to treat these puppies.”
Lazarus, from Brighton, is one of 18 people accused of being part of a burglary involving activists from Animal Rising, formerly Animal Rebellion. 20 dogs were taken from MBR Acres in Cambridgeshire in December 2022 then distributed to sanctuaries across the UK to be taken in by loving owners. Two of the dogs were seized by police and returned to Marshall BioResources (MBR).
The defendants have admitted trespassing and removing property that was not theirs, and that they did not intend to return, but dispute they were acting dishonestly. Jurors have been told they must decide whether the defendants acted reasonably, which is part of the legal test for burglary when a defendant genuinely believes their actions were honest.
Ben Newman, 35, from Hackney, Nathan McGovern, 26, from Lewisham, Hannah Hunt, 26, from Brighton, and Lewis Elliott, 32, from Cumbria, are also on trial, with the other 13 defendants set to appear in successive linked trials that have been separated due to issues with courtroom capacity.
Under questioning from defence counsel Maria Liddiard, Lazarus, a construction worker, read out a statement handed over to police after he was charged. He said: “I have made, and make, no attempt to hide the fact I rescued puppies from MBR Acres. I did this to save lives and prevent suffering.
“Beforehand I was aware of the conditions the dogs were living in. I had heard the screams from outside the carpark. They had no bedding. Never seen light. In cages of 20 dogs, sat in their own faeces with no love.
“Any decent person would agree this is a disgusting way to treat these puppies. This is their life until further abuse and animal testing leading to bleeding and pain and death.
“I believe if any member of the public… from the jury, saw this, they would agree it was the morally right thing to do, to rescue their lives.”
Lazarus, who grew up in Wiltshire and studied music technology at Sussex University, told the court his family had cats; that he had been influenced by the opinions of David Attenborough, Chris Packham, and Queen guitarist Brian May. He added that he discussed animal rights with his grandad, who worked as an advisor on toxicology to the minister of health.
Though he had already developed knowledge of animal testing through his discussions and online research, including reading academic papers, Lazarus told the court he only became aware of the MBR Acres Beagle breeding facility six months before deciding to, as the defendants put it, ‘rescue’ the animals.
Asked by Ms Liddiard what he saw when he Googled MBR Acres for the first time, Lazarus said “I saw horrific videos…” but was cut off by Judge Philip Grey who said: “I think we are going a little bit beyond the issues in the trial here.”
Lazarus also confirmed he was aware that the current laws around animal testing mean “regulated procedures may lawfully result in the suffering or death of an animal”, and that current practices include “harvesting bioproducts” from animals when they are dead or alive. MBR Acres is licensed by the Home Office and has not been found in breach of that license, the court heard.
When prosecutor Mitchell Cohen took his turn to question Lazarus, he focussed on the six month window between Lazarus learning of MBR Acres and his decision to take action to take action by allegedly burgling the Beagle puppies from the facility.
Mr Cohen repeated several times that Lazarus had not written to his MP, lobbied his MP, or written directly to MBR Acres asking them to stop, emphasising that Lazarus had signed a single petition.
“Your next step is to go and burgle MBR Acres because your position is you believe you are entitled to break the law,” suggested Mr Cohen.
Quoting Lazarus’s statement to police about ‘doing the morally right thing’, Mr Cohen told the court: “Laws and morals are not the same.”
Probing further, Mr Cohen said: “This was a raid, was it not? It was a rescue,” claimed Lazarus.
Lazarus told jurors he would have stopped immediately if he had found the puppies in conditions he deemed suitable.
When Mr Cohen pointed to the line ‘Putting animal testing on trial’ written on his t-shirt, Lazarus claimed the conditions of the puppies had been his main concern and reminded Mr Cohen of another line on his t-shirt that said ‘What would you do if this was your dog?’.
Asked how he felt standing in the witness box, Lazarus said: “I feel scared and worried. I am trying to have faith that the truth of what we did, the fact it was done honestly for the protection of dogs will be seen and will be heard.”
The trial continues.
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