A protest is set to take place in Harrogate this weekend over animal testing.

The march will take place on Saturday, September 12, starting at 1pm from the war memorial and travel around the town centre.

The protest, organised by Save the Dogs UK, is hoping to raise awareness of dogs being tested on by pharmaceutical companies, including at Labcorp in Harrogate.

Protests like this have been held in the past, both in the town centre and outside Labcorp on Otley Road, and this one is set to be held in synchrony with marches in London and the US.

Members of the march will hold banners, hand out leaflets and talk to people about what’s happening in the area.

Save the Dogs UK claims that more than 1,500 constituent letters across the UK have been sent through its campaign platform, prompting several cross-party MPs to formally raise concerns about animal welfare.

American-owned Labcorp, formerly known as Covance, has tested medicine on animals at Harlow Hill since the 1970s.

The company says this helps to develop life-saving and life-enhancing medicines for diseases including cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

Labcorp previously said it takes “very seriously” the ethical and regulatory responsibilities to treat research animals with the “greatest care and respect”. It added testing new drugs on animals “is the right thing to do”.