A contingent stayed in the City, visiting BigPharma giant Astro Zeneca, the Mauritian Embassy (Mauritius is one of the largest breeders and exporters of primates for vivisection in the world ) and Mauritian travel companies.

Half a dozen minibuses then carried other protesters to venues over London and the Home Counties, targeting HLS's biggest customers. "No Customers - No HLS" is SCAC's stated tactic here.

According to their website : "Huntingdon, in their own documents, say that 10 companies give HLS 45% of their business. These companies kill 81,000 animals at HLS every single year."

Pfizer in Walton Oaks, Novartis in Horsham, Wyeth and Abbot Laboratories in Maidenhead all got a visit from the SHAC squads, and there was a lively presence outside GlaxoSmithKline in Brentford, where around thirty protesters made sure departing employees learned the extent of its involvement.

With the A4 rush hour traffic at a standstill in both directions, passing motorists also had time to read the banners and listen to the chants. Many honked their horns and waved in support.

Although there was a strong police presence throughout, including a sizeable FIT squad, there were no reported arrests (as of 19.15, Friday). A SHAC spokesman commented "they weren't as bad as usual".

A fuller report will be on the SHAC website tomorrow:  http://www.shac.net/