"Capital of Suffering"
Oxford University's new facility for housing laboratory animals, currently under construction, will be a "legitimate target" for violent protests, according to animal rights activists.
A source from the Animal Liberation Front, long associated with the radical wing of animal activism, told The OxStu that "new animal facilities proposed at Oxford would be seen as a legitimate target for ALF members." When asked what form such protests could take, the source pointed to previous action taken against animal tests at Huntingdon Life Sciences in Cambridgeshire, and said that possible action could "range from smashing windows with rocks to arson attacks against entire departments."
Planned for the University science area on South Parks Road, the new building will bring animals from several different sites under one roof. The University claims it will provide "state-of the-art housing" for its animals, with the University Veterinary Department on hand to offer advice. Vice-Chancellor Sir Colin Lucas stated: "Animals are used in research only when it is essential to do so because no effective alternatives exist."
Tim Phillips, Campaigns Director of the National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS), a pressure group at the forefront of the democratic fight for animal rights, contested this however, telling The OxStu: "Oxford is practically the UK's capital of animal suffering. We've placed people undercover in some of these laboratories and found appalling instances of animal suffering - animals being dropped on the floor, technicians laughing as they smash animals to death against benchtops, and gross overcrowding." University Press Officers refused to comment in response to these accusations.
Oxford's building project has gained national publicity only the week after Cambridge was forced to shelve its controversial plans for a primate research centre, because of escalating projected costs from £24 to £32m. Funding for security provisions was cited as a major factor behind spiralling costs.
It has been suggested that the anti-vivisection lobby will now turn their attention from Cambridge to Oxford. "Oxford will probably become a magnet for legitimate protest...", a representative of NAVS told The OxStu.
Evan Harris, Liberal Democrat MP for Oxford West, and member of the Government's Science and Technology Select Committee, called on the Government to underwrite the additional costs incurred by research institutions when protecting their staff against protestors. "What happened in Cambridge was a disaster", he said. "It should not fall to the research community or to the University to pay for the cost of policing the protests."
The High Court this week excluded animal rights protesters from zones surrounding the premises of the pharmaceutical corporation Chiron, and the homes of its staff, including those of Oxford employees.
Responding to the possible threat of animal rights activism, a University spokesperson told The OxStu: "We have had protests in the past, and we've dealt with them. We are confident we can do the same again. We're not extending our research - we are simply building a new facility for housing the animals."
12th Feb 2004