NC 14 BEAGLES LIBERATED FROM HLS!
02 Apr 2001
No Compromise
For Immediate Release:
14 BEAGLES LIBERATED FROM CONTROVERSIAL LAB DAYS BEFORE MAJOR PROTEST
contact: Darius G. Fullmer (732) 296-1202, on-site (908) 693-2358
East Millstone, NJ -An anonymous message was delivered to the Animal Defense
League - New Jersey today claiming a raid at controversial animal testing
laboratory Huntingdon Life Sciences, 100 Mettlers Ln., East Millstone, NJ,
in which 14 beagles were liberated. Word was received the day before a major
protest at the lab scheduled for April 2, 2001, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
An estimated two-hundred animal rights activists from across the United
States, as well as overseas are expected to attend the protest.
The raid occurred during a series of events targeting the animal testing
lab, which began with protests at the residences of three key Huntingdon
executives on Saturday, March 31. A conference on Sunday, April 1, featured
speakers including animal rights activists, a surgeon, and AIDS
activists--who discussed the issue of animal testing from ethical and
scientific viewpoints.
Huntingdon Life Sciences, a UK-based animal research laboratory specializing
in toxicology testing, has become the target of an extensive and
hard-hitting campaign in England, and now in New Jersey. The company
routinely pumps lethal doses of toxic substances into the stomachs of
beagles, monkeys, rats, mice, rabbits, and other animals.
Huntingdon Life Sciences has been besieged since 1997, in which undercover
video of company laboratories in both the United Kingdom and East Millstone,
NJ facilities shows workers cutting apart a live monkey, and punching and
violently shaking beagle puppies. The videos led to a $50,000 fine for
violations of the Animal Welfare Act at the US facility, and Cruelty to
Animals charges at the UK lab.
The company began a downward financial spiral as investors such as Citibank,
HSBC, Merill Lynch, and TD Waterhouse pulled their support, many after being
targeted by intense protests. Over the past week, Huntingdon's only two
brokers to the London Stock Exchange, Winterflood Securities and Dresdner
Kleinwort Wasserstein, severed ties with the company, leaving them on shaky
financial ground. The campaign in the United States began in September 2000
when 60 activists protested the lab, leading to five arrests. The ADL-NJ
would later criticize Huntingdon Life Sciences for refusing to debate the
merit of their work with a concerned doctor and medical school instructor.
ADL-NJ activist Darius Fullmer points out that the group is not involved in
underground actions such as the raid, but fully supports them. "Fourteen
innocent creatures have been rescued from a short life of pain and a brutal
death. For those 14 we rejoice, for all those who remain encaged we will
continue to fight until all are free."
Nik Hensey, who traveled from Los Angeles for the protest, said "I came to
do my part to show that Huntingdon can no longer torture and mutilate
animals behind closed doors in the name of profit." Activist Miyun Park from
Washington D.C. stated, "We've seen what goes on inside Huntingdon, and
there's simply no excuse for that kind of cruelty."
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