72 male beagles kept in captivity inside a laboratory in Spain were released from their cages for the first time during a rescue operation ran by Animal Rescue Media Education.

Scared and visibly unsure of leaving the confines of their cages, the dogs were among many being used for lab testing before it went out of business.

The beagles were rescued by members of Animal Rescue Media Education (ARME) and most of them had never been outside their cages.

Gary Smith, ARME’s Beagle Freedom Project spokesman, said: “We’ve been told they lived on per cage in rooms of 10 beagles, but they never had any physical interaction with one another.

“They’ve been in kennels since they were rescued about a week ago, but aside from that, they’ve spent most of their lives locked up.”

The beagles were rescued by members of Animal Rescue Media Education (ARME) and most of them had never been outside their cages

The rescue operation took place in June, and the animals’ first steps of freedom were posted on YouTube after they were recovered.

40 of the beagles arrived in Los Angeles last week where they will be put up for adoption.

The remainder of the dogs, all aged between 4 and 7 and bred in captivity, has already been adopted in Europe.

Beagles are often used in lab testing of products, including cosmetics, because of their “docile and trusting” personalities.

Gary Smith added: “Beagles are incredibly sweet, docile, companion animals.

“The downfall is, the same reason the beagle is a perfect companion animal, is the same reason they’re used for testing.”

[youtube zLZMxRP_F5w]