An investigation by the nonprofit Beagle Lovers & Rescuers
An investigation conducted by the nonprofit Beagle Lovers & Rescuers (BLR) has uncovered the history and current federal records connected to two little-publicized Marshall BioResources animal-breeding facilities in Clyde, New York.
One facility is associated with 11840 Meehan Road, Clyde, NY 14433, an address with a documented history as Butler Farms USA, a supplier of purpose-bred dogs used in laboratory research. A second Marshall facility is associated with 4148 Galen Road in Clyde.
Although Marshall BioResources publicly identifies its primary North American location in North Rose, New York, its website does not provide a dedicated page for the Clyde operations or explain what is happening at the two properties.
USDA inspection reports identify the Clyde facilities only as:
- Marshall Farms Clyde Site 005
- Marshall Farms Clyde Site 006
The publicly available reports do not conclusively reveal which site number corresponds to Meehan Road and which corresponds to Galen Road. For that reason, Beagle Lovers & Rescuers has not assigned address-specific animal populations or inspection findings without supporting documentation.
What the records do reveal is that thousands of dogs, puppies, cats, kittens, ferrets and pigs have been counted across Marshall’s two Clyde facilities.
From Butler Farms to Marshall Farms
The Beagle Lovers & Rescuers investigation found that the history of 11840 Meehan Road predates its association with Marshall BioResources.
The National Academies’ laboratory-code database lists Butler Farms USA Inc. at:
11840 Meehan Road
Clyde, New York 14433
A historical USDA list of licensed animal breeders also identifies Butler Farms USA at this address under federal certificate 21-A-0003.
During that period, Marshall Farms USA was listed separately at 5800 Lake Bluff Road in North Rose, New York, under federal certificate 21-A-0008.
A merger notice published by the Rochester Business Journal on April 26, 2002, identifies Butler Farms USA Inc. and Marshall Farms USA Inc. as the combining companies. The resulting company continued under the Marshall Farms USA name.
This corporate merger provides the clearest documented connection between the former Butler Farms operation at 11840 Meehan Road and the present Marshall organization.
Dogs from Butler Farms used in research
Scientific publications independently confirm Butler Farms’ role as a supplier of dogs for laboratory research.
A 1998 toxicology paper reported that mongrel dogs used in a safety study came from Butler Farms USA in Clyde. A 2002 nuclear-medicine study similarly identified male mongrel dogs obtained from Butler Farms USA in Clyde.
These publications confirm that dogs bred or supplied through the Clyde operation entered scientific research.
The studies do not establish the present use of individual buildings at 11840 Meehan Road. They do, however, document the property’s connection to the commercial breeding and supply of dogs for research before Butler Farms was absorbed into Marshall Farms USA.
Marshall’s current regulatory identity
Marshall BioResources / Marshall Farms Group Ltd
11840 Meehan Road and 4148 Galen Road
Clyde, New York 14433
USDA certificate 21-A-0008
USDA inspection reports are addressed to Marshall Farms Group Ltd at its corporate location at 5800 Lake Bluff Road in North Rose.
The individual inspection locations are then identified as “Marshall Farms Clyde Site 005” or “Marshall Farms Clyde Site 006.”
This establishes that Marshall operates two federally inspected locations in Clyde. However, the inspection reports reviewed by Beagle Lovers & Rescuers do not connect either site number to a specific street address.
Without that missing connection, the public cannot determine whether a particular animal population or inspection finding belongs to 11840 Meehan Road or 4148 Galen Road.
Secret—or hidden in plain sight?
The physical properties are not literally secret. Their addresses can be found in specialized databases and historical documents.
What makes the Clyde operations secretive is how little street-level information is readily available to the public.
Marshall’s public websites describe a family-owned company that breeds beagles, cats, ferrets and Göttingen minipigs for biomedical research. The company states that it maintains animal colonies in the United States and other countries.
The public-facing pages reviewed during the BLR investigation identify North Rose as Marshall’s North American location. They do not provide a dedicated Clyde facility page, identify the Meehan Road operation, describe the Galen Road facility or explain the purpose of Clyde Sites 005 and 006.
These locations are therefore better described as hidden in plain sight: federally inspected operations housing thousands of animals, but largely absent from Marshall’s public presentation of its North American business.
Thousands of animals counted in Clyde
Beagle Lovers & Rescuers reviewed eight USDA inspection reports covering Marshall’s two Clyde sites from March 2024 through May 2026.
The following figures combine Site 005 and Site 006 when inspectors visited both locations on the same date.
| Inspection date | Dogs and puppies | Pigs | Ferrets | Cats and kittens | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 26, 2024 | 3,507 | 1,886 | 2,609 | 570 | 8,572 |
| August 14, 2024 | 593 | 2,017 | 1,732 | 724 | 5,066 |
| August 12, 2025 | 637 | 2,133 | 1,902 | 1,378 | 6,050 |
| May 19, 2026 | 513 | 2,108 | 2,253 | 1,170 | 6,044 |
These figures are inspection-day inventories. They are not annual production numbers or maximum-capacity figures. They also do not reveal how many animals were born, sold, shipped, transferred, adopted, euthanized or found dead during each year.
More than 3,500 dogs counted in March 2024
The most dramatic change discovered by Beagle Lovers & Rescuers involves the number of dogs and puppies.
During the March 26, 2024 relicensing inspections, USDA inspectors counted 3,507 dogs and puppies across Marshall’s two Clyde sites.
Approximately five months later, inspectors counted 593 dogs and puppies across the same two sites—a difference of 2,914 animals.
The inspection reports do not explain the decrease or identify where the dogs went.
Changes in an inspection-day inventory can result from sales, shipments, transfers, deaths, changes in breeding production or simply the timing of an inspection. The records reviewed by BLR do not provide enough information to determine what happened to the dogs no longer included in the August count.
The available evidence supports documenting the decline. It does not support claiming a specific outcome for those animals without additional records.
May 2026 animal populations
The most recent USDA reports reviewed by Beagle Lovers & Rescuers were dated May 19, 2026.
Marshall Farms Clyde Site 005
Inspectors counted:
- 2,108 pigs
- 272 adult dogs
- 241 puppies
- 362 adult cats
- 344 kittens
Total: 3,327 animals
Marshall Farms Clyde Site 006
Inspectors counted:
- 2,253 ferrets
- 454 adult cats
- 10 kittens
Total: 2,717 animals
No dogs were listed at Site 006 during this particular inspection. That does not prove dogs were never housed there before or after May 19, 2026.
Across both Clyde sites, inspectors counted 6,044 regulated animals:
- 513 dogs and puppies
- 2,108 pigs
- 2,253 ferrets
- 1,170 cats and kittens
Because USDA records do not publicly connect the site numbers to their street addresses, these populations cannot yet be assigned specifically to Meehan Road or Galen Road.
What USDA inspectors found
Seven of the eight Clyde inspection reports reviewed by Beagle Lovers & Rescuers recorded no noncompliant items during the inspection.
That is an important regulatory fact, but it should not be interpreted as a complete assessment of animal welfare.
A USDA inspection documents what inspectors observed under the federal standards examined during a particular visit. These reports do not reveal:
- Every condition between inspection dates
- Annual births and deaths
- Animal sales and shipments
- The laboratories receiving the animals
- Long-term veterinary outcomes
- Maximum facility capacity
- Complete animal-disposition histories
- The ethical implications of breeding animals for laboratory use
The absence of a citation does not provide the public with a complete picture of an animal’s life inside a commercial breeding facility.
The August 2024 food-storage violation
During an August 14, 2024 inspection of Clyde Site 006, USDA inspectors cited Marshall under 9 C.F.R. § 3.1(e) for problems involving dog-food storage and sanitation.
In Building B1, inspectors found two unopened bags of dog food sitting on a broken pallet next to a waste-sand bed containing fur, dust and debris.
A third bag had been opened and clipped shut but was not tightly sealed.
In Building B2, inspectors found moldy dry food remaining in feeders inside six empty animal enclosures. According to the report, an automated feeding system had malfunctioned.
The inspection report states that no dogs were offered the contaminated food. Marshall employees reportedly corrected the conditions during the inspection.
This was the only cited noncompliance found in the eight Clyde inspection reports reviewed for this investigation.
It should not be exaggerated, but it should not be dismissed. The inspection documented a preventable sanitation and food-storage failure inside the regulated operation.
AAALAC accreditation and federal inspections
AAALAC International lists Marshall Farms Group Ltd and Marshall BioResources as accredited.
AAALAC accreditation is a voluntary, private program. It is separate from federal enforcement under the Animal Welfare Act and does not replace USDA inspections or public accountability.
The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service inspects regulated facilities for compliance with applicable Animal Welfare Act standards.
Passing a USDA inspection means inspectors did not cite violations during that particular visit. It does not necessarily reveal everything that happens inside the facility between inspections, nor does it resolve the ethical issue of breeding dogs and other animals for laboratory use.
What the photographs reveal
The photographs examined by Beagle Lovers & Rescuers appear to show a sizable rural compound containing multiple long buildings, extensive roof ventilation, internal roads, gates, privacy fencing and controlled access.
An aerial image shows numerous elongated structures arranged around a system of internal service roads. Exterior images show:
- Chain-link vehicle gates
- Tall privacy fencing
- Controlled driveways
- Posted traffic and security signs
- Long buildings with extensive roof ventilation
- A house near a driveway leading toward additional structures
These physical characteristics are consistent with a secured animal-breeding or agricultural facility.
The photographs do not show animals or building interiors. They cannot independently establish which species are housed in a particular building, how many animals are inside, the quality of veterinary care or current housing conditions.
What remains concealed
Despite the federal inspection reports and historical records uncovered by Beagle Lovers & Rescuers, important details remain unavailable or unresolved.
The public records reviewed do not conclusively establish:
- Whether Site 005 is Meehan Road and Site 006 is Galen Road, or the reverse
- The current animal population specifically at 11840 Meehan Road
- Annual births at either Clyde facility
- Annual deaths or euthanasia totals
- The number of animals sold or shipped from Clyde
- The laboratories and institutions receiving the animals
- Maximum capacity for each property
- Complete animal-disposition histories
- The purpose of every building visible in the photographs
These limitations prevent BLR from assigning inspection-day animal populations or violations specifically to the Meehan Road property without additional documentation.
Conclusion
The investigation by Beagle Lovers & Rescuers reveals a clear but carefully limited account of Marshall BioResources’ presence in Clyde, New York.
The property at 11840 Meehan Road has a documented history as Butler Farms USA, a company that supplied purpose-bred dogs for laboratory research. Butler Farms merged with Marshall Farms USA in 2002.
Today, federal records identify two regulated Marshall BioResources sites in Clyde. USDA inspectors have counted thousands of dogs, puppies, cats, kittens, ferrets and pigs across these facilities.
In March 2024, inspectors counted 8,572 animals, including 3,507 dogs and puppies. In May 2026, they counted 6,044 animals across the two Clyde sites.
What remains concealed in the publicly available records is the basic connection between Site 005, Site 006 and their respective street addresses. The reports also do not reveal the annual flow of animals through the facilities or explain the substantial changes between inspection-day populations.
These missing details are not proof of conditions the records do not show. They do, however, demonstrate how little address-specific information is readily available about a large commercial animal-breeding operation connected to the laboratory-research industry.
Through this investigation, Beagle Lovers & Rescuers has brought the existence, history and documented scale of Marshall BioResources’ Clyde operations into public view.
Beagle Lovers And Rescuers is the only nonprofit maintaining a presence outside Marshall BioResources — to document, expose, and demand change. Please DONATE to help. It’s tax deductible and helps bring us closer to freeing the animals trapped inside.
