MBR Acres breeds beagles for laboratory research. It does not make vaccines, develop medicines or carry out experiments.
Since February, its site near Huntingdon has been classed as key national infrastructure.
The same part of the Public Order Act covers railways, airports, oil facilities and power stations. Anyone convicted of interfering with their operation can be jailed for up to 12 months.
Sarah Jones, then the policing minister, said protesters had disrupted research and medical supply chains. Her regulations also protected companies breeding animals for laboratories.
The protection was not limited to major drug factories. It covered animal-testing sites, university laboratories and businesses supplying animals for experiments.
MBR Acres was pulled in with them.
There was no new Bill. Ministers added “life sciences infrastructure” to the Public Order Act through secondary legislation.
The main Commons examination took place in a committee room on 17 December 2025. It began at 2.30pm and ended at 3.40pm.
Kerry McCarthy said the country would not grind to a halt if MBR Acres was occasionally stopped from supplying beagles.
Olivia Blake had worked as a biomedical scientist. She called the use of the term national infrastructure “quite honestly, hilarious”.
Veteran Conservative Sir Roger Gale supported the original Public Order Act. He still described this addition as “half-baked”.
The committee approved the regulations by ten votes to two.
MPs were later allowed to vote on them, but they did not get another Commons debate. The measure passed by 301 votes to 110 through a deferred division on 14 January.
The Lords approved it after a full debate on 4 February. It became law eight days later.
Camp Beagle had been outside MBR Acres throughout.
The protest camp has occupied land near the breeder’s gates since June 2021. Campaigners have also emailed companies working with the site and asked them to pull out.
Ben Obese-Jecty, the Conservative MP for Huntingdon, believes this is why the government acted.
He told Parliament in April that it would be “extremely naive” to think the regulations were introduced for any other reason.
Obese-Jecty said pressure from activists had brought MBR Acres within days of closing. According to him, the email campaign had played a large part.
He also believes messages urging companies to stop supplying the site could now be treated as criminal interference.
No court has tested that claim.
Ministers insist peaceful protest remains lawful. The offence concerns deliberate or reckless interference, and somebody charged can argue that they had a reasonable excuse.
That still leaves campaigners guessing about pressure on suppliers.
Animal Aid is challenging the regulations before a protester becomes the first test case.
The charity says MBR Acres should never have been put on the list. Its lawyers argue that ministers used the word “infrastructure” to cover something Parliament never intended.
It is also challenging the consultation. The Home Office spoke to the police, prosecutors and the Office for Life Sciences. Animal Aid says industry representatives were approached as well. Animal protection groups were not.
The High Court allowed the judicial review to proceed on 29 July. The regulations have not been overturned, but Animal Aid’s challenge will now be heard.