Hundreds of animal rights activists are expected to participate in a 14-day, 207-mile March to Abolish Animal Testing beginning Sept. 12, according to organizers.

The march will take participants from Albany to Marshall BioResources in North Rose, a Wayne County company that breeds beagles, cats, ferrets, and minipigs for medical, veterinary, and pharmaceutical research.

Woodstock activist Gretchen Primack is helping lead the march with Miami activist Ella Magers and a coalition of animal rights groups. The organizers are calling for Marshall to close and for the federal government to prohibit animal experimentation.

“We’re starting at the seat of power in the state, and we’re going to a notorious breeder of animals,” Primack said. “It’s about raising consciousness.”

The march comes as Marshall faces new allegations about its treatment of animals. A coalition supporting the demonstration said Sept. 2 that it had sent New York authorities a letter requesting a criminal investigation based on accounts from a former employee and other material.

Marshall BioResources CEO Scott Marshall denied the allegations and accused the organizers of spreading inaccurate information. He said the letter wasn’t a criminal complaint, lacked necessary context, and relied partly on claims from a former employee. Marshall said the company follows American Veterinary Medical Association guidelines and passed unannounced inspections by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in May, July, and September.

The march also follows heightened national attention on the breeding of dogs for research. Ridglan Farms, a Wisconsin facility that housed about 2,000 beagles, closed this summer after years of protests and allegations of animal mistreatment, which the company denied. Primack and Magers participated in an April demonstration there that ended with arrests and police using tear gas and pepper spray to repel activists attempting to enter the property.

The New York march will begin after a 9 a.m. rally at West Capitol Park in Albany. Participants plan to walk an average of nearly 15 miles a day before arriving in North Rose on Sept. 26, when they will protest on public property near the gates of Marshall’s facility, Primack said.

Much of the route follows the Empire State Trail. Organizers plan to stay overnight in communities along the way and hold events intended to draw attention to animal testing.

“Community members can come out, and we’re partnering with folks along the way,” Primack said.

Some dog rescue organizations plan to join the march and hold adoption events, she said.

Primack, a longtime animal and human rights activist, said she tries to avoid contributing to the exploitation of other species. She doesn’t eat animals or animal products.

“Am I perfect? No,” Primack said. “My goal is to minimize the damage that I do to other species. I care about animals who are used in experiments. I care about animals who are used for food.”

Primack and Magers connected through social media and organized the march around Marshall’s North Rose operation. The facility houses more than 16,000 beagles, Primack said.

Marshall describes itself as a global provider of animals for biomedical research. The company said its animals are used to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of potential treatments before human clinical trials.

Marshall said technological alternatives to animal research are advancing but can’t yet fully reproduce the complex biological systems found in people and animals. Scientific and regulatory standards still require animal studies in many areas of medical and veterinary research, the company said.

Magers adopted her beagle, Jane, from a rescue organization that took custody of dogs from Ridglan Farms after it closed. She plans to bring Jane on the march.

“A lot of people in America don’t even know that we are still testing on companion animals, and they think that testing on animals is necessary,” Magers said.

Primack said the march will differ from the April protest at Ridglan Farms because participants don’t plan to enter private property.

The federal Animal Welfare Act sets standards for the treatment of certain animals used in research, including dogs, cats, nonhuman primates, guinea pigs, hamsters, and rabbits. It doesn’t cover rats, mice, and birds bred for research, which account for many of the animals used in laboratories.

Animal rights advocates contend that animal experimentation is inherently inhumane and often fails to predict whether treatments will work safely in people. A 2023 academic paper estimated that about 92% of drugs tested successfully in animals fail during human clinical trials.

“The stats are very well documented,” Primack said. “This is not a good system.”

Primack said the march’s ultimate goal is to end the use of animals as the standard for medical, pharmaceutical, and scientific research. She said taxpayers indirectly support companies such as Marshall because federal grants fund some of the research conducted with their animals.

“All of that is what we are calling attention to,” Primack said. “All of that is what we want stopped.”

Isabella Schoonover is a staff reporter for The Overlook covering Woodstock, Saugerties, Hurley, and surrounding Ulster County communities. Send correspondence to isabella@theoverlooknews.com.