Camp Beagle is a 24/7 Operation outside of the gates of MBR Acres.
Come rain or shine there is always a presence to watch, monitor and record activity at MBR but there is so much more to Camp Beagle which often goes unnoticed or reported.
Social Media
In today’s digital world social media is key to both inform and to educate an information hungry audience.
As at February 2024 our Facebook page has over 37,000 followers but it doesn’t stop there. We receive on average over 50 direct messages daily all of which are replied to with answers to their questions ranging from outreach to donations, directions to research, supplies to demos; the list is endless – we aim to reply the same day but bear with us if you require a more detailed reply.
In addition we aim to publish at least 2 new posts on Facebook be it live feeds, important forthcoming events or requests, such as what actions need to be done on our current petition.
Our videos, produced in-house gain thousands of views once published which is very positive – on the negative side these take hours to produce in some cases up to 4 hours.
In part the success of our petition was getting Celebrities onboard to share to their followers – each Celebrity was contacted, nurtured and encouraged – although vital to our petition nevertheless this process was very time consuming.
Instagram/X
Like Facebook we have a huge following all of whom are informed and educated on the latest news direct from Camp Beagle.
Website
Like our social media presence our website needs to be informative and contain news and information which ensures that visitors come back time and time again.
The website is key to Camp Beagle as in addition to being a fountain of knowledge also handles donations which are vital to our 24/7 presence.
Financials
Each and every penny donated is accounted for and all expenditure is approved.
At the end of each month we publish our accounts for all to see as it has always been the way of Camp Beagle to be open and transparent on all financial transactions; we will continue to do this and we feel that it is important to be accountable for each and every penny.
Research
This is an important part of Camp Beagle’s campaign and, perhaps for obvious reasons, tends to be conducted under the radar and only comes to light when timings permit and after every T and every I has been crossed.
Research has been paramount in the success of our petition being discussed in parliament and also paramount when defending Camp Beagle’s right to peacefully protest in the High Court much to the annoyance of MBR and their bank balance.
Discussions
Camp Beagle has always been open to suggestions and guidance; each week key members of the campaign have online meetings to discuss a wide variety of topics to include, merchandise, strategies, financials, outreach, preparations for Winter, current research and campaigns to name but a few.
For perhaps obvious reasons the outcome of these meetings are kept private but rest assured they are all done with the ultimate goal of closing MBR Acres.
Van Alerts
Previously Cambridgeshire Police would inform camp well in advance of any shipments of Beagles for MBR Acres; over the past year or so they have failed to do so.
Once ‘death vans’ have entered MBR then a network of like-minded activists are contacted to ensure that key locations are manned such as Labcorp. Charles River and Seqani, should an IMPEX death van arrive.
Remember that a high percentage of activists would stop the vans if they had the chance but a combination of Police presence, the recently introduced protesting laws and the High Court injunction at MBR Acres forbids any direct action being taken.
The Day To Day Running of Camp
Camp Beagle needs daily supplies of essentials to keep in going more so during the winter months.
It is around this time of the year that gas consumption at Camp increases together with diesel for the generator.
Food needs to be purchased although Camp Beagle is grateful for any donations.
Water needs to be sought and again Camp is grateful for any donations
So when our ‘haters’ post on socials that all that Camp Beagle does it to shout at the workers when they enter or leave the death site, normally a total of 40 minutes a day, remember that Camp Beagle is 24/7 and this is just a fraction of Camp’s working day.
I hope that this article gives you a better understanding of how camp works or functions which we could only do without the grateful support of our supporters
The Camp Beagle Team