UPDATE: 'Terrorists' vs. Research Lab

April 12, 2001 London, UK

Cry 'Havoc!' and let slip the dogs of war. 

In the brutal conflict between Europe's largest contract research company, Huntingdon Life Sciences, and an equally formidable confederacy of animal-rights groups, the battle has now shifted to Old Broad Street, London and Wall Street, NY.

But first, let's have a quick synopsis for those who are just tuning in:

Huntingdon Life Sciences is a UK-based company that "provides pre-clinical and non-clinical biological safety evaluation research services" (quoted from the HLS business summary).

HLS has two labs in the UK and one in New Jersey

For 50 years, HLS has been conducting animal experimentation for companies with products ranging from pharmaceuticals to skin cream to bug spray.

The facility reports testing on an average of 75,000 animals each year (these animals are afterwards destroyed).  Most of the animals are mice and rodents, but as many as 190 primates and 750 dogs—particularly beagles—are included in this figure.

For the last ten years, animal welfare organizations and regulatory commissions have targeted the HLS for allegedly committing severe ethical and humane violations.  Investigations, protests and demonstrations have succeeded in forcing the issue into the public eye.

In one of the more dramatic episodes, last week a group of activists broke into the HLS lab in East Millstone, NJ, and freed 14 beagles (read the April 3 article, 'Terrorists' Raid Research Lab To Free Dogs).

"An anonymous message was delivered to [us] today claiming a raid at controversial animal testing laboratory Huntingdon Life Sciences... in which 14 beagles were liberated," announced the Animal Defense League, a group that denies any involvement in the action, but supports it entirely.

The 14 beagles, who had already undergone several weeks of experimentation at the lab, are still missing.

This is one of the more inoffensive photos
published on the SHAC website.

Want to learn more?  Here are a few websites that address the situation (from both sides):

The Ethical Debate (good, objective coverage)
Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (USA)
Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (UK)
Huntingdon Life Sciences Website
"Animal Rights Activists Press UK Lab" (AP)
"Stop Huntingdon Life Sciences" (adl-online)
Information about the ALF (adl-online)

...which brings us back to today's update:

Today another animal rights group claimed a different kind of victory.  The Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty group has been for months focusing on the economic side of the fight.

Through protests, demonstrations and boycotts (and all manners of intimidation), the SHAC has confronted the major customers, investors and creditors of Huntingdon, demanding that they discontinue their support.

Today, a day after protesters in bunny suits climbed the roof of the Birmingham and Milton Keynes offices, Charles Schwab, the world's biggest online stockbroker, announced it would no longer deal in Huntingdon stock.

Bob Duste, chief executive of Schwab Europe, said: "The increasing number of employees being personally threatened, harassed and intimidated by protesters means that it is no longer viable for Schwab to continue trading in the shares. We will not take chances with the safety of our employees."

Greg Avery of SHAC (who may not have heard what Mr. Duste had to say) announced: "This is another nail in Huntingdon's coffin. It is yet more evidence that the financial community does not think Huntingdon has a future and that they will close."

Regardless of who doubts Huntingdon's financial stability and who is simply concerned with their own personal safety, the effect on Wall Street and the FTSE was staggering.  Shares of Huntingdon plunged 45% to 3 pence (4.3 cents) on Wednesday.

Schwab is just the latest in a string of market makers and investors who have pulled out of Huntingdon, including Winterflood Securities and Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein.  

SHAC now plans to focus its persuasion on the Bank of New York, a major investor in HLS; protests already began Monday. 

But while it certainly does seem that the ruin of Huntingdon Life Sciences is nigh, don't be fooled; there is no cause for celebration.  

Financial analysis shows us that money is simply being diverted away from Britain, into overseas research groups.  That is, the same customers, the same creditors and the same investors are instead going abroad to conduct the same vivisection and animal testing.

So is this all just the sound and fury signifying nothing?  Perhaps not.  If it is the intent of these individuals to educate and alert the public to a horrible situation, then they should be applauded—they've certainly succeeded at that.

But a problem of this magnitude cannot simply be strong-armed out of existence.  Last month we learned from Foundation Bardot that, despite its frustrations and annoyances, diplomacy may be the truest way of achieving results.

Or maybe they just need a helluva lot more bunny suits.

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