UCLA: Animal Research Leads to Threats

AP via SFGate ^ | 2/21/8 | NOAKI SCHWARTZ, Associated Press Writer

[SmithL]

Los Angeles (AP) -- The University of California went to court Thursday to try to keep animal rights activists away from UCLA employees who say they have been threatened because of their research.

Three times since June 2006, Molotov cocktail-type devices have been left near the homes of faculty members who oversee or participate in research that involves animals, according to a statement from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Researchers' homes have also been vandalized and they have received threatening phone calls and e-mails, according to the university. On at least one occasion a faculty member received a package rigged with razor blades, the statement said.

"Enough is enough," UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said. "We're not willing to wait until somebody is injured before taking legal action to protect our faculty and administrators from terrorist tactics, violence and harassment."

The University of California's Board of Regents filed suit in Superior Court in Santa Monica on Thursday, seeking a temporary restraining order and permanent injunctions keeping activists away from the researchers, university spokesman Phil Hampton said. The board oversees the state's 10 University of California campuses.

Hampton said the suit specifically requests restraining orders and injunctions against the Animal Liberation Front, the Animal Liberation Brigade, the UCLA Primate Freedom Project and five protesters believed to be affiliated with those groups.

[squidly]

Somewhat misleading headline. There’s a whole lot more going on here than just threats.

[wastedyears]

These people are dangerous. Ban animal rights activists.

[BurbankKarl]

multiple bombs and firebombings by these groups...including one last week I believe.

[VOA]

“The University of California went to court Thursday to try to keep
animal rights activists away from UCLA employees who say they have
been threatened because of their research.”

I was at UCLA until 2005; even then the animal-rights zealots were
racheting up the volume of their protests.
And I did see one circulated communication that said that UCLA wouldn’t
tolerate attacks on faculty members or on their homes.

The statement was sort of oblique...I couldn’t tell if there had
actually been attacks on the homes of UCLA faculties at that point.

UCLA does take these protestors seriously. IIRC, they hired extra
uniformed security at the time of the last protest during the time
I was there.

[edcoil]

I know this guy who’s entire job at UCI is to put electric shocks into sea slugs.

He is doing a study on what is inherited vs learned response

[Cindy]

ARTICLE SNIPPET:

"Hampton said the suit specifically requests restraining orders and injunctions against the Animal Liberation Front, the Animal Liberation Brigade, the UCLA Primate Freedom Project and five protesters believed to be affiliated with those groups."

[xroadie]

"Hampton said the suit specifically requests restraining orders and injunctions against the Animal Liberation Front, the Animal Liberation Brigade, the UCLA Primate Freedom Project and five protesters believed to be affiliated with those groups."

Such injunctive relief will surely stop these law-abiding "protesters!"

[Xenalyte]

Animal research sucks. That’s why God created felons.

[Cindy]

Yep...my thoughts exactly.

[Farmer Dean]

And they are gutless.Always a phone call,an e-mail,or a dangerous package.Never a face-to-face confrontation.

[BlazingArizona]

Science needs a militia that can answer “direct action” in kind. The first time a band of Earth Firsters sets out to trash a laboratory and simply disappears, never to be heard from again, most of these cowards will lose interest.