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Oxford Indymedia

Animal Activists demo lair of Oxford lab builders.

Peter Salmon | 31.05.2006 09:51 | Animal Liberation | London | Oxford

Yesterday evening, up to 30 animal rights activists converged on the Fire Service College in Moreton-in-Marsh, having discovered that the people working on the controversial new animal laboratory for Oxford University were staying there.

Despite backing from the Government to the tune of £100 million, and the vocal support of Tony Blair, it seemed that was not enough to outwit animal rights campaigners who have proven themselves yet again to be one step ahead of them and the University. Contractors for the laboratory are desperate to keep their identity and location a secret, following the highly public withdrawl of the previous contractors when anonymous letters were sent to shareholders of the company.

Efforts to date have included builders wearing masks, all logos and identifying marks being removed from the materials on site and elaborate techniques for transferring workers to and from the site. It is the latter that has failed, despite unmarked mini-buses with smoke-tinted windows, rouse and anti-surveillance vehicle, and a route that turned a half hour journey from the City of Oxford into a two hour one which changed every day.

All this provide to no avail as at 6pm the convoy of cars dropped between 25 and 30 committed activists, who had run the operation in strict secrecy, outside the Fire Services College located in extensive grounds outside of the small Gloucestershire town of Moreton-in-Marsh. It was not long before the green space at the entrance to the world renowned training centre for fire-fighters was covered in banners and placards denouncing the laboratory.

The authorities were completely caught on the hop. It appears that in their desire for secrecy, nobody had told the security at the Fire Services College who were on their property or what to expect. Likewise with the local police who took over 45mins to turn up. Five minutes after their arrival, the gates were locked preventing everyone involved with the site from either entering or leaving. After some sharp orders this was eventually withdrawn.

The police were equally clueless and unbriefed. They made one attempt to stop a protestor from using a megaphone, with PC 343 declaring that describing the types of experiments carried out by Oxford University, all factually evidence, was harassing and he wanted the protestors details under section 50 (aka. ASBOs). This was refused on the grounds that it was simply legitimate protest and neither anti-social or a crime. The two coppers attempting to detain the man were easily seen off by the other protestors, especially when they refused to say what actually did amount to anti-social behavour.

Activists left at 7.30pm having clearly got the message across that there is nowhere to hide, and promising to be back. Speak Campaigns have already announced a follow up demonstration there this Saturday, 3rd June – for details see www.speakcampaigns.org.uk

It remains to be seen what happens next. In all likelihood the builders will eventually be moved on from the Fire Service College. Already there are rumblings of discontent from people on-site who are opposed to the builders presence and others, the builders included, will not want to see daily protests at the site. The question is can they hide themselves again, and what impact this will have on the rest of the contractors who have still to move and start the building of the laboratory in earnest.

The activists' discovery of the builders lodgings is a profound embarrassment for State and University alike, and comes on top of a bad week for them.

Despite mainstream press to the contrary, last week's injunction ruling, limiting protest in the City of Oxford near the lab itself was not the devastating blow to campaigners it was made out to be. The University is seeking to hide the protests from the lab itself, and failed in this, simply having the existing exclusion zone extended. Certainly the protestors are not overly concerned other than at having any civil liberty removed in general.
Meanwhile during the court hearing more embarrassing facts emerged. In an own goal, Pro-animal testing group 'Pro Test', who are in favour of the laboratory, turned out to have put up a web-cam in a building near the laboratory in order to monitor the animal rights protestors. It was of good enough quality that it allowed people to be able to monitor the workers going in and out of the construction site, including reading number-plates.

It also emerged that the University is having problems with contractors involved in other projects nothing to do with the controversial laboratory. It would appear then entire building industry is jittery over contact with the animal rights movement, something yesterday's protest will only exasperate. Already a number have refused to do work with the University despite not being a target of protestors.

Then there was the boot from singer Morrissey who spoke out against the laboratory at a recent gig in Oxford, criticizing vivisectors for their violence to animals, saying it was the only language they understood. This was followed up in an interview in the fanzine “True To You”, where he is quoted as saying animals rights activists were “usually very intelligent people who are forced to act because the law is shameful or amoral".
All in all, not a good week for the laboratory on South Parks Road.

Peter Salmon

Comments

Hide the following 8 comments

fantastic!

04.06.2006 12:05

Keep up the good work!

pleased


Don't believe all you that SPEAK say

07.06.2006 15:58

I'm afraid you've been had a bit by SPEAK: the webcam was not run by a member of the university; it was trained on the back of the Chemistry lab, not the new laboratory (which was, coincidentally, where the SPEAK people would come to protest on Thursday afternoons); and last of all, the picture was so grainy you couldn't see anything, least of all numberplates on cars. Everything SPEAK posted about that webcam was untrue, including its location, which was in fact in a building not occupied by the university, but rather by an Environmental Research Group...

LittleShelver


How would SPEAK know?

07.06.2006 18:13

How would SPEAK know anyway? They would be arrested if they went inside Oxford Uni or even near the doorstep,and how do you know what SPEAK saw on the webcam was'nt number plates-they did'nt say they were grainy or clear-they just said they saw them through the webcam,so your accusation of "lieing" is flawed as SPEAK would'nt know the exact location as the Police State presence would'nt allow them inside the massive Oxford Uni.

GO AND TIE THE SHOE LACES OF THE WHITE COATED BRAIN SCEWING PRIMATE MOLESTERS!

Tim


Another desperate attempt at covering the truth by the "pro-test" childrens club

07.06.2006 18:23

Please don't believe all that "pro-test" post on IMC as in the above comment ..

V8


Reply to Little Shelver

09.06.2006 00:23

Yes, the webcam was pointed where you indicated, but that also happened to be the spot were protestors were assembling outside of the then exclusion zone. There is no other reason to have a webcam on that spot if not to watch the protestor (or are you really THAT boring), and the only people who seemed to know about it were Pro-Test, who had linked to it from their website - now why would they do that...

An environmental research group that just happened to be on University property and forms a group within the University. Every building on that part of Mansfield Road is owned and used by the University or Colleges, as the University's own maps show.

Peter Salmon


"Little Shelver"

10.06.2006 16:13

My comment was posted in retort to his/her ("Little Shelver's post") and not anyone else who has posted since : )

Keep fighting for animal liberation!

V8


Oh i love ARAs

12.06.2006 17:50

"GO AND TIE THE SHOE LACES OF THE WHITE COATED BRAIN SCEWING PRIMATE MOLESTERS!"

Animal rights supporters - all so pleasant, thoughtful and oh-so-intelligent.

Tim, you are a moron.

BUILD THE LAB

Shaquila
mail e-mail: shac.is.gay@gmail.com


Animal Abusers are human abusers!

17.06.2006 18:43

For the person who uses shac is gay as there email address, just shows that those who are pro animal abuse are also homophobic wankers!
As someone with a long term illness, I say No to Vivisection cause It doesn't benifit anyone except the Vivisectionists bank balance!! Pro Test are really a sad bunch, they can't even have debates on their website about the fraud which is vivisection, they wouldn't debate with me anyway when I started talking science!!
queerliberation/humanliberation/animal liberation Total Liberation!!!

Matty


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