Grimston beagle-breeding farm judicial review bid

Protesters against the development had originally gathered a 40,000-signature petition

An animal protection group campaigning against the breeding of dogs for medical experiments has applied for a judicial review of planning permission for a site in East Yorkshire.

Cruelty Free International (CFI) has lodged papers with the High Court over the B&K Universal site in Grimston.

Proposals for the site were rejected last year by East Riding Council.

The Planning Inspectorate agreed with councillors, but the Secretary of State later dismissed its recommendation.

'Potential infections'

B&K Universal said it had presented a strong case to the Home Office and any judicial review would be directed at the government, not the company.

CFI said most dogs at the facility should have access to outside runs, but the company said this might expose them to potential infections.

Its lawyers have lodged papers requesting a judicial review of the planning permission with the Administrative Court of the Queen's Bench Division at the High Court.

The group said: "It maintains that this [Secretary of State] decision violates EU law and believes that, if the Home Office had not given the green light to denying dogs outside runs, then a recent planning appeal by B&K may well have been rejected."

B&K Universal had imported puppies and reared them at the site, near Withernsea. The new unit allowed the company to breed their own dogs.

'Animal choice'

A spokesman for B&K said: "The Home Office exempted our new building from the need to have outdoor runs after we submitted a strong case to justify why outdoor runs would present a health hazard to our dogs and potentially to our husbandry staff.

"Our animals are given a degree of control and choice over their environment to reduce stress-induced behaviour.

"It is the government's legal department that will face the Judicial Review of the lawfulness of giving B&K this exemption and B&K will only be involved as an interested party."

The firm belongs to American-owned Marshall BioResources, which breeds and sells animals globally for use in vivisection laboratories.

The original planning application in 2013 - made under the name of Yorkshire Evergreen - detailed proposals to build a facility housing 2,000 beagles and ferrets.

This was turned down and a second application for a smaller site for 200 dogs and ferrets was put forward.

It was rejected again by the council last year, before the Secretary of State stepped in .