Animal Activism versus Science

The terror tactics of animal rights activists are driving staff out of laboratories:

One female Harlan worker told the Observer: "When you arrived in the morning, you would have to queue for up to five minutes to get through the gates. Their loudhailers were deafening. They would scream at you that you were a puppy killer and would bang on your car. It was horrible. I was left shaking for hours afterwards." A male colleague was equally affected: "It is part of their methodology to equate animal work with paedophilia. If they find out your name, you will appear on their website as a paedophile. It is disgusting." Another Harlan worker found out that his neighbours had all been sent notes claiming that he was a rapist.

"Part of the overall reduction in company numbers has involved consolidation of businesses, but there is no doubt that intimidation has led to the closure of many other companies," says Andy Cunningham, a Harlan manager. "Yet EU legislation requires us to use more and more animals for toxicity testing today, while scientists are making more and more key discoveries that require animals for research. We have to have animals if we want to develop new drugs for Alzheimer's and heart disease and to test products used by the public."

Such intimidation has become a frequent weapon for activists. Harlan's workers have remained resolute, but elsewhere the effect on the breeding of laboratory animals in the UK has been badly affected. In 1981 there were 34 companies breeding laboratory animals. Today there are just three because of activists' intimidation of staff and of companies supplying services and products to laboratories.