Animal rights extremism in the UK

You know things are getting out of hand when they call out the troops:

The Army may be placed on standby to assist the building of an £18 million laboratory at Oxford University, should further contractors pull out of the project because of harassment by animal rights extremists.

Ministers are considering a plan to use army units to deliver critical building supplies to the site to ensure that the research centre is not derailed by violent protests.

From the Times of London. Some background here via New Scientist:

Crucial medical research may be under threat in the UK, scientists have warned, after blaming the halt in building of an £18 million animal experimentation laboratory in Oxford on action by animal rights extremists.

Oxford University revealed on Monday that by "mutual consent" it had agreed with the construction firm Montpellier Plc to end their contract to build the biomedical research facility.

Montpellier pulled out following an intimidation campaign by animal rights extremists, which targeted shareholders. A company that supplied concrete to the site is also reported to have come under attack.

The lab was being built to house research into diseases like Alzheimer's disease. About 98% of the animals housed at the new lab would be rodents, but some primates would be kept too. The new lab would consolidate and replace existing labs at the university.

It is the second time in 2004 that a major animal research lab has been scuppered by animal activists. In January, plans for a primate research centre at Cambridge University, backed by prime minister Tony Blair, were axed as the security costs of protecting the lab from extremists were deemed too high.

Link to the latter story here.

And for those who wonder why this has been so widely labelled "terrorism", look at this Guardian piece:

The website could not have been more explicit. "All headlights and glass smashed, all electrics and air lines, oil lines cut, tyres slashed, fuel tanks, oil and transmission tanks contaminated, cab controls smashed up, approx 100 power cables supplying site electrics were chopped through," it said, describing how members of the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) had broken into the Bournemouth offices of construction company RMC just over a fortnight ago.

"Fuse boxes and other bits of electrics smashed, fuel pumps damaged, fuel tanks spilled, all site conveyor belts slashed beyond repair. Slogans painted everywhere, estimated cost £250,000."

According to the anonymous posting on the direct action website Arkangel, ALF members went to work with axes, bolt croppers and crowbars for nearly three hours, causing damage to tractors, bulldozers and a crane. Their message signed off with a challenge: "How do you like it so far, RMC?"

The company had been targeted for the simple reason that it supplied concrete for the construction of a new research laboratory at Oxford University.

Posted by David on July 22, 2004 9:08 PM