Animal extremism

Animal extremism

Animal extremism

Over the last few years the argument between animal rights activists and drug companies over using live animals in laboratory research has escalated into campaigns of disruption.

While most campaigners against using animals in scientific research are peaceful and lawful, some people have chosen direct action.

The pharmaceutical industry in particular says it faces a wave of violence which is jeopardises medical research. Attacks are rising, adding security costs of £30m to £70m a year to research firms' bills, says the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry.

Between April and June 2004, it says, 24 companies severed ties with UK-based commercial or college research facilities.

ABPI members reported 27 incidents of damage to property, two to public property and 20 to company property. This compares to combined tally of 30 incidents in the second quarter of 2003.

Tactics

An animal rights extremist campaign may involve tactics like these:

• releasing animals from captivity in laboratories, factory farms, fur farms, etc
• inflicting economic damage on organisations that are regarded as anti-animal
• publishing names, addresses, phone numbers of employees on extremist websites
• threatening letters and harassing telephone calls to employees' homes
• flooding companies with emails, faxes and telephone calls in an attempt to disrupt the companies' business
• sending anonymous letters to the neighbours of targeted directors making false allegations that the individual is a paedophile
• sending packages to homes of targets containing offensive material e.g. used toilet paper, razor blades
• ordering goods and services in the name of the victim
• making late night 'home visits' which involve vandalising cars, smashing windows and spraying graffiti
• staging disruptive office invasions
• staging intimidatory protests at company premises and employees' homes
• using fake explosive devices
• assaults

The new UK strategy against animal extremists

At the end of July 2004 the Home Office announced a new strategy for dealing with animal rights extremists.

This strategy proposed the following measures:

• It would become an arrestable offence to protest outside homes in a way that causes harassment, alarm or distress to residents
• Section 42 of the of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 would be amended to make it an offence for a person subject to a direction to return to the vicinity of the premises within 3 months
  • This means that if a police officer tells a person to leave the area outside someone's house, they should not return to protest or intimidate; if they do, they are likely to be arrested
• An amendment to the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 would cover harassment of two or more people who are connected (e.g. employees of the same company) even if each individual is harassed on only one occasion