Protestors march more than 200 miles across New York State to demand an end to animal testing
As many as 1,000 protestors attended the final day of action outside Marshall BioResources – the country’s last major supplier of animals for research – which coincided with historic political developments.
The March officially launched from the New York State Capitol in Albany on Saturday, September 12, 2026 calling for an end to animal testing. Credit: Marcos Quinones/March for Animals
The 207-mile March to Abolish Animal Testing recently concluded with hundreds of protestors arriving outside Marshall BioResources, America’s largest breeder of dogs for biomedical research.
The peaceful protest started on September 12 in Albany – chosen as it is the seat of the New York State government – and continued across 14 walking days, culminating at Marshall’s Farms in North Rose, Wayne County, which owns around 30,000 animals including 9,000 adult beagles and 5,000 pups.
"We refuse to accept animal suffering as the price of scientific progress – because we know there is a better way,” said Ella Magers, campaign co-director, who was joined on the march by her dog Jane, recently rescued from Ridglan Farms, the shuttered Wisconsin facility that housed 2,000 beagles for testing. “This march is about ordinary people coming together to do something extraordinary, and proving that when enough of us refuse to look away, we can change systems that once seemed impossible to change."
While some completed the entire march, others joined for a few hours or for the duration of certain days, and many more came out to support the final day of action. According to a Facebook post by Gretchen Primack, campaign co-director, over 1,000 people attended the Marshall protest.
Founded in 1939, Marshall BioResources is now the last major breeding facility supplying animals for the experimentation industry, following the recent forced closures of Envigo and Ridglan. Its CEO Scott Marshall says that when he first started in the business there were seven large commercial breeders.
“For many years we never had protests at our sites,” he told The Times of Wayne County ahead of the march. “Now, within the last couple of years due to our main competitors going out of business, we’re the last man standing and we’re a big target.”
The company started out breeding ferrets before expanding to dogs, cats, and minipigs, while opening facilities in China, France, and the UK. However, its long-term future is looking increasingly uncertain. The record fine of $35 million handed down in 2024 to Envigo for grave violations of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) – and the subsequent surrender of over 4,000 beagles from its facility in Cumberland County, Virginia – has enthused campaigners to push for the permanent closure of the industry as a whole.
Just days before the march wound up in North Rose, Rep. Nick Langworthy (R–NY) and Rep. Mark Pocan (D–WI) announced the introduction of the bipartisan Companion Animal Protection Against Cruel Testing Act, which calls for an end to dogs and cats being used in federally funded biomedical research.
“Dogs and cats are companion animals and part of the family for millions of Americans; they should never have to endure inhumane suffering, particularly at expense to taxpayers and when science has evolved to develop more effective research methods,” said Langworthy on September 23, while announcing the legislation. “This is the most comprehensive legislation to date that moves our federal research system forward to better outcomes, while protecting innocent animals.”
Langworthy told Spectrum News that he “will not rest until Marshall Farms is shut down.”
Aerial view of Marshall BioResources' facility in North Rose, New York, where around 14,565 are being held, as of July 2026 records. Credit: Rise for Animals
A beagle puppy is trained to wear an inhalation mask at Marshall BioResources. Credit: The Camp Beagle
A week earlier, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that tens of millions of dollars are to be directed toward replacing animal testing with human-based research methods like organs-on-chips and AI-powered models.
In particular, the National Institutes of Health – which has already shut down its last beagle facility – is to open a state-of-the-art laboratory that will enable advanced, animal-free experiments on reproducible human biological systems.
Marshall argues that the animals are used in “important scientific, medical, and veterinary studies that help protect and save human and animal lives,” and added that multiple, unannounced inspections made this year by the U.S. Department of Agriculture did not cite any AWA violations.
However, he concedes that attitudes to animal testing are changing, even among some of his clients. “There’s all this talk about alternative methods, which are amazing by the way and are used by our customers. They are the investors in developing these technologies. In the end, they would rather use alternatives rather than dealing with controversy,” he said.
In addition to the march, organizers sent an open letter to HSS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, which called on the government to stop funding research that involves testing on dogs. It had the support of 268 scientists and healthcare providers.
Speak out:
In Species Unite’s home state of New York, Marshall BioResources operates one of the largest breeding facilities for animals used in experimentation in the country. Sign the petition calling on NY State lawmakers to investigate Marshall BioResources and take every action available to end the breeding and sale of animals for experimentation at its North Rose facility.
After years of sustained pressure from various groups including Species Unite, Chewy has stopped selling merchandise from Marshall Pet Products, an affiliate of Marshall Farms. Now, we’re calling on Petco and PetSmart to follow suit. Add your name to the petition here.
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