Save Hundreds of Beagles From Being Shipped to Laboratories for Cruel Tests The news that a facility that breeds dogs for animal testing is closing down might sound like a good thing – but it doesn't mean a reprieve for over 300 beagles at AstraZeneca's breeding facility in Örkelljunga, Sweden. AstraZeneca, one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, is planning to ship the dogs to laboratories in the UK, where they will be subjected to horrifically cruel experiments. Following a traumatic journey, during which they will be crammed into crates and transported in the dark cargo holds of planes, the dogs will face countless horrors at laboratories such as Alderley Park in Manchester and notorious Huntingdon Life Sciences. In these types of research institutions, dogs are frequently mutilated, beaten, force-fed fertilisers and poisons and deliberately infected with deadly diseases. The animals die terrified and alone, almost always in pain. Beagles are intelligent, friendly and loyal dogs. They are especially good with children and make excellent companions. According to AstraZeneca, a few of the dogs have been re-housed with staff in Sweden. But every single one of these animals should be put up for adoption and given a chance to lead a happy life, not sentenced to a lifetime of suffering at the hands of experimenters. It's not too late to save the beagles. Just last month, public pressure secured the release of 70 beagles destined for animal tests in India. Now, let's take urgent action to give the AstraZeneca dogs a happy ending, too. Tell the members of the AstraZeneca Board to send the beagles to loving homes, not heartless labs.