We have received exclusive new images of dogs at the Breeding Centre for Biological Matter [Centre d’élevage des Souches (CEDS)] in Mézilles, Yonne. The whistle-blower wanted to highlight the way the golden retrievers and beagles were being detained in the biggest dog farms for laboratories in France. It’s a done deal: the farm recently acquired by Marshall BioResources (MBR) has not finished making a name for itself; we cannot give up on these dogs who are being surrendered to the scalpel.
A breeding centre where dogs are nothing but products
The numbers are indeed astronomical: there are more than 1500 there. The bitches are used for breeding for their entire lives, kept in tiny cells; the babies that are born are often sick and so many of them die prematurely; the young dogs that are separated from their mothers to live in a cage outside are left to battle in a survival of the fittest in unnatural packs and plagued by boredom. Eventually, they are experimented on directly on site or sent in lorries to laboratories where they lose their lives, not without having suffered and, for the majority of them, without ever having received a single affectionate gesture – it’s forbidden at the farm.
At the time of their visit in 2018, our specialist, veterinarian André Ménache, exchanged a few words with the CEDS veterinarian. According to her, at least at the time, she was cited as saying that “these dogs are different, they are no longer like pet dogs”.
Buying with lucrative prospects
The farm was bought in Spring 2021 by the sadly infamous American ‘bio resources’ brand (which means animals as products): Marshall BioResources, formerly Marshall Farms. The two farms for beagles destined for laboratories in Gannat and Mézilles in France therefore now belong to this giant which is centred more around profit than animal welfare. It’s a way for Marshall to evade customs charges and to avoid the costs of transporting the dogs in aircraft cargo and the commercial ‘losses’ linked to the animals which do not survive. According to the buyer,
« One in two Beagles used in Europe [in laboratories] is imported from the United States… The majority of these Beagles are Marshall Beagles. Currently, logistics are becoming a major issue since, under pressure from activists, the possibility of importing is becoming more and more difficult. And more and more costly. »
We had access to a one-off videoconference
he Carré couple, to whom the farm initially belonged and against whom we won the battle to ban their expansion, have consequently sold their flourishing farm to the highest bidder. During this one-off videoconference, to which we were given access, they are proud to showcase to their buyers: various clients, dog ‘users’, and those who use their on-site test service Bio 2M. They wanted to be reassuring: everything is going to continue as it was before at CEDS, or perhaps even intensify with Marshall, and just as much on the breeding side as on the experimentation side at Bio 2M. According to the head of Marshall Europe, located in Lyon:
« The idea throughout the acquisition, you will have gathered, is not only to sustain activity but to develop it… At present, I would say that the Mézilles site is one that is almost unique in the world, capable of combining canine breeding and a provision of services for studies related to canine activity… I don’t know of any facility which is organised in this way currently. And so the idea behind this is essentially to continue to, naturally, offer a provision of services which is currently available at Bio 2M, with the idea of being able to develop and diversify them. »
We are terrified for the dogs.
France is in fact one of the countries that tests on dogs the most in Europe. The numbers are increasing! But we will not let MBR torture them to death without saying anything, even with scientific backing; we have never done so, neither for them nor those who preceded them for over 20 years.
More than ever, the dogs need you. Sign our petition! And join us at the protests set for the first weekend of September. We organize the rally in Auxerre and let’s join the action led by Animal1st at Gannat !
If you want to go even further, you can find the One Voice labelled brands on our site dedicated (in French) to products that aren’t tested on animals. You can also sign the European Citizens’ Initiative, Save the Cruelty Free Cosmetics, to avoid any backtracking in Europe.
Our archives on the fight for the dogs of Mézilles
Expérimentation animale: One Voice défend ses preuves contre l'élevage de chiens à la cour d'appel de Paris
Press Release 15 February 2019 (in French)
Read the press releaseOne Voice en action le 9 juin à Auxerre contre le plus gros élevage français de chiens pour les laboratoires
7 June 2018 - Press release (French only)
Read the press releaseLe plus gros fournisseur de chiens de laboratoire en France
28 January 2001 (in French only)
Read the article