Animal
rights campaigners are threatening a new wave of attacks on Oxford
University as its biomedical laboratory nears completion. Groups
such as the Animal Liberation Front have been waging a campaign of
arson and vandalism since work on the controversial facility - which
will house all of the university's animal testing labs - began in 2004. The
final touches are now being put to the £20million building and the
university expects it to open next year. However, extremists have
promised to ensure that it will not remain open for long. The
ALF's spokesman Robin Webb warned university staff to expect "home
visits". He said: "The ALF does not wave banners or leaflet neighbours.
Our type of home visit involves red paint, breaking windows and
criminal damage." In a message posted on the militant website Bite Back, ALF members wrote: "Oxford Uni - you can't possibly win. "How
long do you think you can afford to keep the lab open? We will never
stop, so get used to being the new Hillingdon Life Sciences. Let it
begin." A Thames Valley Police spokesman said it was aware of the threats but would wait to see if significant action follows. She
said: "We have a dedicated team which gathers intelligence on various
groups, including the ALF, to prevent and detect crime. There have been
many threats made against this project and we expect that to continue." The
university has spent about £4.5 million protecting its investment. The
site has been turned into a fortress with high, barbed wire-topped
walls. Contractors wear balaclavas while they work to protect their
identities. But despite the precautions, and court
injunctions banning protesters from the site, attacks continue not only
on those who use animals in research, but on other university staff,
students and independent contractors working in other fields. In
July 2005, the ALF admitted responsibility for an arson attack on
Hertford College boathouse and for an explosive device planted in the
Corpus Christi sports pavilion two months later. In November 2006, the same group admitted responsibility for an arson attack on The Queen's College sports pavilion. A number of high-profile professors who use animals in research have received death threats and letter bombs. One,
Colin Blakemore, the chief executive officer of the Medical Research
Council and an Oxford University professor, was sent a parcel
containing explosives covered in needles which was opened by one of his
children. The Government responded by amending the
Serious Organised Crime Act, which came into force in July 2005, so
that animal rights activists could face up to seven years in jail for
such attacks. | 