Students protest against animal rights campaign
Donald MacLeod
Wednesday February 22 2006
The Guardian


Students and staff at Oxford University are to defy animal rights campaigners
and demonstrate in support of a controversial £163;20m research facility.

Organisers, PRO-Test, expect the rally on Saturday to attract between 200 and
500 people, including students from University College London and Imperial
College London.

The new biomedical facility has been targeted by animal rights protesters and
work was halted for 16 months when the contractors pulled out in the face of
threats. Building has now resumed, but the campaigners are widening their
activities to target firms or donors connected to the university.

Speak, an Oxford-based group which has called its own anti-university
demonstration for Saturday, insists on peaceful protest, but the Animal
Liberation Front (ALF) has threatened violence and damage to property belonging
to any bodies maintaining contacts to the university.

A website posting by the ALF claimed it had attacked Oxford Architects and
warned: "This is just the beginning of our campaign of devastation against
anyone linked in any way to Oxford University. Every individual and business
that works for the university as a whole is now a major target of the ALF. The
University have made a crass decision to take us on and we will never let them
win."

Saturday's pro-laboratory demonstration, starting in Broad Street, will hear
speakers including Dr Simon Festing, director of the Research Defence Society,
Professor Tipu Aziz, consultant neurosurgeon at Oxford, local Liberal Democrat
MP Dr Evan Harris, and Laurie Pycroft, founder of PRO-Test.

A poll of 210 students published by the student newspaper Cherwell, found that
85% of students believed the labs should be completed.

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