Beagles being bred for drug testing at a Manawatu laboratory have led to animal rights activists protesting outside an international science conference in Auckland.

The three-day NZBio Conference began yesterday and was immediately targeted by protesters waving banners and placards against the testing carried out by speaker Allen Goldenthal.

Dr Goldenthal, who is the research director at the Valley Animal Research Centre in Himatangi, was speaking at the conference about his work with animal testing in China.

About 30 protesters from Animal Freedom Aotearoa camped outside the SkyCity Convention Centre while he spoke, and member Jasmine Gray said the group was calling for an end to testing on beagles. The beagles were kept in "unpleasant and unsanitary conditions" and taken into frightening environments for testing, she said.

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full story:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/science/3490741/Science-conference-attracts-protests-over-tests-on-beagles