March targets animal testing as US policy shifts gather pace
Bottom line
A 14-day advocacy campaign called the March to Abolish Animal Testing is set to begin September 12, 2026, in Albany, New York, and end at Marshall BioResources in North Rose after a 207-mile walk. Organizers say the march is aimed at ending animal testing in the US and pushing the federal government to stop funding animal experiments, while drawing attention to Marshall’s role as a major supplier of animals for research. The campaign is being framed as a follow-on to this year’s closure of Ridglan Farms in Wisconsin, a longtime beagle breeding facility for laboratory research that agreed to wind down operations and release dogs to rescue partners. (marchforanimals.org)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the story sits at the intersection of animal welfare, research ethics, and a fast-changing regulatory environment. Federal agencies including the FDA, NIH, and EPA have all recently signaled or advanced policies meant to reduce reliance on animal testing and expand the use of non-animal methods, even as industry and research groups maintain that some animal studies remain necessary in specific contexts. That means clinics, shelters, laboratory animal veterinarians, and animal welfare groups may see more public scrutiny, more questions from pet parents, and potentially more downstream effects from policy shifts involving laboratory dog breeding, rehoming, and oversight. (fda.gov)
What to watch: Watch for turnout and media attention around the September 12–26 march, any response from Marshall BioResources or regulators, and whether the campaign translates into concrete policy pressure on federal research funding and animal-use standards. (marchforanimals.org)
A national animal advocacy campaign is trying to turn this year’s momentum against laboratory dog breeding into a broader push to end animal testing in the US. The March to Abolish Animal Testing is scheduled for September 12–26, 2026, with organizers planning a 207-mile route from Albany to Marshall BioResources in North Rose, New York, one of the country’s best-known suppliers of purpose-bred research animals. Organizers say the goal is not only to protest one company, but also to challenge federal support for animal experimentation more broadly. (marchforanimals.org)
The campaign comes just months after the closure of Ridglan Farms in Wisconsin, which had become a flashpoint for welfare advocates because it bred beagles for research. According to Dane County and rescue-group statements, Ridglan reached a settlement tied to an animal cruelty investigation, agreed to surrender its state dog seller license effective July 1, 2026, and released large numbers of beagles to rescue partners. Dane County Humane Society said an April 28 agreement covered 1,500 dogs, while advocates described the broader effort as one of the largest laboratory beagle rescues in US history. (danecountyparks.com)
That recent win is central to how march organizers are presenting this effort. On the campaign site, they explicitly connect the New York march to the Ridglan outcome and argue that public pressure can force change at commercial breeding operations that largely stay out of public view. Marshall BioResources, for its part, presents itself as committed to humane care and points to AAALAC accreditation and animal welfare resources on its website. Based on the available public material surfaced in this search, I did not find a recent standalone company statement responding specifically to the September 2026 march. (marchforanimals.org)
The broader policy backdrop also matters. Since 2025, the FDA has rolled out a roadmap to reduce animal testing in preclinical safety studies, published draft guidance on the use of new approach methodologies in drug development, and reported first-year progress toward replacing some animal studies where equivalent or better alternatives exist. NIH has also launched initiatives to prioritize human-based research technologies and says, as of July 7, 2025, it will no longer issue funding opportunities exclusively supporting animal models. EPA, meanwhile, said earlier this year that it was reviving its goal of ending mammalian animal testing by 2035. (fda.gov)
Reaction across the field remains divided. Advocacy and alternatives-focused groups argue the science and policy climate are finally shifting toward more human-relevant methods, with organizations such as the Alternatives Research & Development Foundation promoting validation and adoption of non-animal methods. At the same time, research advocacy groups including Americans for Medical Progress continue to argue that animal research still plays an important role in biomedical and veterinary advances, while also endorsing the 3Rs: replacement, reduction, and refinement. That tension is likely to shape how this march is received by institutions that rely on regulated animal research, as well as by clinicians and veterinary teams who may support stronger welfare standards but recognize the complexity of replacing animal models across all research areas. (ardf-online.org)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, this story is bigger than a protest route. It reflects a visible convergence of public pressure, rescue activity, and federal policy change around laboratory animal use. Practices may hear more from pet parents asking about beagles from research settings, shelters may continue to feel the effects of large-scale releases, and laboratory animal veterinarians may face growing scrutiny over welfare, transparency, and the pace of transition to validated alternatives. The story also underscores that animal welfare debates are no longer separate from regulatory science: they’re increasingly influencing funding priorities, drug-development policy, and expectations for oversight. (giveshelter.org)
What to watch: The next markers are concrete: whether the September 12, 2026, march draws significant turnout and political attention, whether Marshall BioResources or state and federal agencies publicly respond, and whether advocacy tied to this event accelerates additional action on breeding facilities, federal grants, or agency guidance on non-animal methods. If the Ridglan closure becomes a template rather than an exception, veterinary stakeholders may be watching the early signs of a broader restructuring in how research animals are bred, regulated, and, in some cases, rehomed. (marchforanimals.org)