Will Young supports protestors by handcuffing himself to dog-breeding centre gates

17 November 2021, 12:32

By Hannah Lovejoy

@HanLovejoy

Will Young showed solidarity with animal rights campaigners recently when he showed up at their camp in Cambridgeshire.

Will Young spent his afternoon at Camp Beagle on Tuesday (November 16) to show support for an ongoing protest that is campaigning for the closure of MBR Acres in Wyton, near Huntingdon.

Camp Beagle are an animal rights group that want to see the release of dogs being used for testing in the facility - they’re also hoping for the facility to stop using beagles for laboratory testing purposes.

During his time on the protest site, Will handcuffed himself to the gates of the dog-testing facilities. It’s thought that Will was spoken to by police and released himself from the handcuffs, NME reports.

Will shared a picture from his time at Camp Beagle on his Instagram page and wrote a caption explaining his stance on the situation at hand.

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He mentioned that he wanted to “raise awareness” about the use of beagle puppies for animal testing at the centre.

“I spent today at the gates of MBR Acres in protest of their testing on beagles. I wanted to raise awareness of animal testing and the fact that this is a puppy farm that farms over 2000 beagle puppies a year to be sent out to their inevitable torture and death,” the caption reads.

“People do not know about it in this country and that is why I've handcuffed myself to the gates.”

Cambridgeshire Police also spoke of Will’s actions and explained how their presence is there to ensure that protesting is done in a safe manner.

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A post shared by Will Young (@willyoungofficial)

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Speaking via NME, Cambridgeshire Police said: “Officers spoke to a man handcuffed to the gates and he has since released himself from the handcuffs and moved away from the entrance.

“Our response to the protests in Wyton has been impartial and proportionate, balancing the right to protest with the right of staff at the site to go about their lawful work.

“We are ensuring a safe environment for protesters to express their views peacefully and staff at the site to do their work, which is protected under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005.”

This isn’t the first time that Will has shown support for a dog charity either - he previously sold his Brit Awards to raise money for a dog’ home in Thailand.