Showdown in Little Rock over animal rights
According to Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC), "a line has been drawn in the sand between those who support animal rights and those who are pro animal testing. The conflict is between Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty and Stephens Inc., and the battleground is Huntingdon Life Sciences [HLS]." This weekend in Little Rock, Arkansas, the adversaries will meet. Months in the planning, SHAC actions are intended to force Stephens to withdraw their financial support from HLS. Earlier this year, Stephens saved HLS from bankruptcy after other companies divested themselves of HLS shares under pressure from SHAC.

According to SHAC, HLS kills 500 animals a day in the course of its medical research. HLS calls this science, SHAC murder. The scientific community is itself divided, with some members taking a stand against it.

Little Rock does not have an IMC, but a Portland Indymedia reporter is on-the-ground there and will be posting regular reports here. According to her first report, activists from around the country have been arriving in the city. Police are saying their presence will be "minimal" if protesters do not "break the law" or become violent. Laws regarding public assembly and speech in Little Rock recently changed, however, at the behest of Stephens, which has been pressuring the Little Rock city council.

[ First report | Full text of the anti-free speech ordinance ]

Background: [ Portland Indymedia: The issues and the players | SHAC: October 29 website & VIDEO | In depth: "Vivisection or Science: a choice to make" ]

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