An animal rights campaigner has described a High Court ruling which means he is allowed near a facility where beagles are bred for medical research as a victory of David over Goliath.
John Curtin, 62, was found to have trespassed on the land at the MBR Acres site in Wyton, Cambridgeshire, and got in the way of vehicles entering or leaving the facility.
He was fined £90 for being in contempt of court after admitting breaching an order by approaching a transport van outside MBR as part of a protest against a night-time shipment of dogs in April 2022.
The incident had none of the significantly aggravating factors that had led to the imposition of the interim injunction
In a 109-page ruling, Mr Justice Nicklin said: “As to harm, the breach was in respect of a protective order that was designed to prevent the sort of behaviour in which Mr Curtin engaged.
“However, against that, the van was only fleetingly obstructed as it attempted to leave the Wyton site.
“The incident had none of the significantly aggravating factors that had led to the imposition of the interim injunction.
“Overall, this was not a serious breach of the injunction, and it has no other aggravating features. I assess the harm to be low.”
The judge added that he did not consider it necessary to continue with the imposition of an exclusion zone because it would subject Mr Curtin to restrictions on activities that are not unlawful.
He added: “The law does not require a person exercising the right to demonstrate or to protest to demonstrate that s/he is ‘right’, whatever that would mean, and Mr Curtin is not required to persuade the court that he is ‘right’ to oppose animal testing.”
He has allowed Camp Beagle to peacefully protest, and it is the first time it has ever happened to me - I am looking forward to going back to camp
Claims that Mr Curtin had caused a public nuisance, harassed people at the facility and trespassed by flying a drone were thrown out at the High Court in London.
Mr Curtin, who had been banned from being around the entrance to the MBR Acres site had the restriction lifted in a judgment on Wednesday.
MBR is licensed to breed animals for animal testing and research, and activists have set up Camp Beagle – a protest camp outside.
Since around June 2021, a number of people have been protesting outside the site.
There is a small semi-permanent camp of protesters on the edge of the carriageway about 20-30 metres from the entrance to the site.
Mr Curtin, who has been protesting since the beginning, is a semi-permanent resident of the camp, the judge said.
At an earlier hearing he told the court he hoped to draw attention to the activities of MBR by protesting, and he wanted the law to be changed to prohibit testing on animals.
After the ruling on Wednesday, Mr Curtin, who has been campaigning against vivisection for 40 years, said: “It has kind of given me a drop of faith in British justice because I have been coming to this building – the RCJ (Royal Courts of Justice) – for 40 years.
“It is a case of David and Goliath, and David won.
“I think we have got a fair judgment. He hasn’t crushed our right to protest. He hasn’t crushed Camp Beagle.
“I thank the judge for not allowing the corporate world to rule the courts.
“He has allowed Camp Beagle to peacefully protest, and it is the first time it has ever happened to me – I am looking forward to going back to camp.”
The judge granted MBR an injunction which will restrain protesters from trespassing at the Wyton site and from interfering with the right of access from the site to and from the public highway caused by obstructing vehicles entering or leaving.
Mr Justice Nicklin said: “I am going to provide that the injunction shall last initially for a period of two years, at which point the court will consider whether it should be renewed, discharged or potentially extended.”
