Next to the sleepy village of Belton, several miles out of Loughborough, lies a compound surrounded by razor wire, high fences and security cameras on every corner. This is Harlan, the source of most of Britain's laboratory beagle dogs.

Set up as a breeding centre to supply Fisons in Loughborough during the 1970's, the facility changed hands in 1995 to Harlan when the former's site was purchased by AstraZeneca. It still maintained the same role, however expanded to supply beagle dogs to laboratories across the UK.

1,000 Beagles are currently held on side, with approximately 250 killed each year as surplus to requirements. The remainder are sent to labs or used as constant breeding machines until they are no longer of use and discarded in a skip.

The number of dogs killed at the kennels each year is set to increase with some of Harlan's top clients announcing a closure of British research operations – AstraZeneca in Loughborough being one, alongside Pfizer, Charles River and Aptuit. A number of Harlan's university customers have also ended research involving dogs.

The National Anti-Vivisection Alliance (NAVA) has today launched an official campaign to rescue the remainder from the horrors of the vivisector's scalpel. Join us, get actively involved and help to Save the Harlan Beagles!