The Oxford Student.
25 October 2007

Battle lines drawn for animal lab inauguration.
Andy Heath

The University is bracing itself for a fresh onslaught from animal rights extremists after leading activists promised to deploy new tactics “in the days and weeks” after the lab's opening. Oxford is keeping the completion date closely under wraps, but the Oxford Student can reveal that the lab will be operational within six months – and that animals are already inside.

Robin Webb, spokesman for the extremist Animal Liberation Front, said he believed its members would “take unlawful actions to stop the lab's operation” and would attack the University “by whatever means necessary, including criminal damage and arson.” Mel Broughton, leader of the Speak animal rights group, told this newspaper, “In the days and weeks after the lab opens, there will be a battle that we will take to the University and the lab. Our tactics are evolving.
Only one thing is clear: we won't go away. As far as we're concerned, we've only just started.”

Senior sources said that the University is taking steps in preparation for an attack on the lab. There are fears that terrorists may try to attack the facility when the reinforced security barrier is removed on completion. In an hour-long phone-call to The Oxford Student on Tuesday, Mel Broughton conceded that Speak's three-year battle to stop the lab from being built was all but lost. He said, “Look at the stage it's at. There's not long to go before it is complete. But it isn't going to stop us or alter what we do.”

Broughton said that the lab's completion would galvanise supporters into a last stand University, and that Speak would “make their presence felt” immediately after the opening. “We are more than ready for the future. We will be there as it
opens – we will be there fighting.”

Robin Webb, Press Officer for the extremist Animal Liberation Front, told this newspaper that ALF activists were planning fresh attacks on Oxford. Speaking yesterday evening he said, “Whether the lab opens or not depends on the University. If it does open, it will be a legitimate target.” “The ALF by its nature is unlawful. Arson has been used by ALF from its beginnings, and I see no
reason why this would not be used to attack the lab.”

A spokesperson for the University said, “Students are not at risk. The University works hard to protect its staff and students, and after that its property.” However, the Animal Liberation Front were yesterday defiant, claiming that Oxford“will see a widening of what are perceived as legitimate targets.” College and University property has been targeted in the past year, but there is no suggestion that students' safety is in question.

The Animal Liberation Front is an umbrella movement for independent activists, and so its attacks are almost impossible to predict and intercept. Activists rarely coordinate their actions, operating in small cells which often disband after each attack. Webb is charged with claiming ALF responsibility for each animal rights
attack. The Front claims to have between 2,000 and 2,500 activists ready to attack targets at any one time, and the completed lab will be one of their most high-profile targets.

Activists are planning further ‘home visits' – attacks on the personal property of individual staff members and their families. Webb said, “The ALF is not involved with waving banners or leafleting neighbours. Our type of home visit involves red paint, breaking windows and criminal damage.” Webb also suggested that activists may attempt a daring raid to get inside the facility and perform a ‘liberation' of the animals. Webb said, “Breaking and entering, activists will be
trying to get in to get at the animals. Security has increased dramatically over the past thirty years, mainly as a result of the ALF. There are far more hi-tech methods of security, but activists have access to the internet and can easily find out how to counteract them.”

Raids on American university labs in the 1980s resulted in the release of hundreds of secret research videos and forced the closure of several facilities. Speak claim to be a lawful protest group but they have been criticised for their
aggressive lobbying and intentionally disturbing publicity campaigns. Broughton has previously been jailed for making an incendiary device.

The Animal Liberation Front is the militant wing of the animal rights movement. It has taken responsibility for all of the major attacks on Oxford property over the past three years, including the firebombing of Hertford's boathouse and the Corpus Christi and Queen's pavilions. This February, bombs were planted in Templeton College's outbuildings, but were discovered before they could detonate. In light of the ALF's history, these new threats will be taken very seriously.

Timeline of terror
January 2005
Speak, the leading anti-lab group, grew out of a group called Stop Primate Experimentation at Cambridge (SPEAC) that halted the construction at the University of Cambridge of a new primate research facility. Activists involved in SPEAC learned that the University of Oxford was planning to build a new biomedical research facility to house research animals. In response, they announced the formation of “Speak, the Voice for the Animals”, and declared that their campaign against Oxford would be the second stage in their efforts to end all animal testing in the UK.

July 2005
Work halts on the build when builders Walter Lily and Co pull out of the project after “intimidation and harassment” by animal rights protesters. Science minister, Lord Sainsbury, considers putting troops on standby in order to help with deliveries to the site.

Animal Liberation Front (ALF), the extremist group, plant incendiary devices in Hertford College's boathouse (left). The blaze causes an estimated half a million pounds worth of damage and destroys 26 boats from six different colleges,
along with other equipment. The attack marks a new phase of the campaign, with any University property now a potential target.

September 2005
A group calling themselves the Oxford Arson Squad attack a Corpus Christi sports pavilion, after seemingly confusing it with Christ Church property.

November 2005
The University resumes building work on the lab after finding a new contractor to complete the 20 million pound complex.

January 2006
Animal activists for the fi rst time threaten violence against all staff and students of the University. Via a post on its website, ALF told its supporters that, “The ALF is calling out to the movement to unite and fight against the University on a maximum impact scale. We must target professors, teachers, heads, students, investors, partners, supporters and anyone that dares to deal in any part of
the University.”

Pro-Test is founded by 16-year old Laurie Pycroft to counter the threat of extremists. Pro-Test says that it stands for “science, reasoned debate and, above all, the welfare of mankind”.

November 2006
Queen's sports pavilion is fi rebombed by the ALF to mark the anniversary of the death of Barry Horne, the notorious arsonist who starved himself in prison.

February 2007
Two incendiary devices were found in an annexe at Templeton College. Bomb disposal experts found the devices after claims on an animal rights website that the college had been targeted.

October 2007
Speak vow to step up their campaigning after the opening of the lab - whilst the ALF promise to unleash a new wave of violent attacks. The lab is due to be opened within the next six months.

By Holly Edgar