[shac-uk] Just 4 Weeks to National March and Rally, Sat Nov 10th, Huntingdon

[Guest guest]

SHAC is among the most effective AR organizations, largely because of the size of their demonstrations and the active participation of the vast majority of their members. Participation is key. MargaretSHAC National March and RallySaturday November 10thMeet 11am, Riverside Car Park, Huntingdon. There are just 4 Weeks to go to the National March and Rally in Huntingdon.Please make every effort to attend this very important demo, transport is beingarranged from around the country. Please contact us for details of transportfrom your area, or if you are going and can offer transport to otherprotesters.The national March and Rally to the labs at Huntingdon next month will be thefirst such march for several years. Protests have been limited to 50 people,once a week, after HLS obtained a

temporary High Court Order. Earlier thisyear, the Order was finally granted to HLS, but the terms were varied, allowingfor the return of large demonstrations at the site, as well as the use ofmegaphones during protests. However the ban on large protests at the sites did not succeed in any way instopping the campaign. In fact in the face of this repression the campaign toshut down the labs has continued to grow, and has now become a globalphenomenen, unprecedented in the history of the movement.Indeed this is a campaign which under normal circumstances would have beensuccessful several times over. The UK government has repeatedly stepped in andused hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers money to bail out HLS. Thegovernment now provides banking and insurance facilities for HLS, the onlycompany in the world with access to such priveleges. Many have asked us why the government is going to such lengths to

keep thisdigraced and discredited company in business. It is no coincidence and nosecret that the government has for many years been funded by a small band ofwealthy biotech and pharmaceutical entrepreneurs such as David Sainsbury andChristopher Evans. It is widely accepted now that in exchange for these hugedonations, these people received honours (both Sainsbury and Evans becameLords) and even political power in exchange for these huge donations (theso-called "Cash for honours" scandal). However there has been a lesser knownpayback; the massive input of resources, the hundreds of millions of taxpayers' money, spent on defending the biotech and vivisection industry.And despite all this, HLS remains $100 million in debt, and doesn't even ownits buildings. Only 2% of HLS shares are currently being traded, and even thenonly on an obscure and little used trading scheme, since all the major stockexchanges still refuse to

list them. Even the very few companies who recentlybought shares in the company, are now getting rid of their shares just asquickly. Recent large investors who have been added to the long, long list ofcompanies who have stopped dealing with HLS include some of the biggest namesin international finance, such as Dresdner/Allianz, Deutche Bank, Rabobank andBNP Paribas.Yet in recent weeks, HLS bosses have been claiming in the media and to anyonewho will listen that the Shac campaign is over, while at the same time stillwhingeing that no companies are prepared to invest in the company. This is ablatant example of wishful thinking on the part of HLS management. The truth isthat despite all the resources and the millions spent defending and shoring upthis disgraced and nasty company, HLS is as bankrupt and dependent ongovernment handouts as it ever was. Hence the recent attempts by the authorities to shut down the Shac

campaign byother means, by the use of massive police raids on premises across the countryand even abroad, by the widespread confiscation of large amounts of campaignmaterials and personal property, by the targeting and repression of thecampaign organisers, the imprisoning of some, the strict bail conditionsimposed on others. But all their efforts have failed again. The number of protests and actionssince the crackdown has actually increased, and even more countries have joinedthe campaign, and even more companies have ditched HLS.It's vital that on Saturday November 10th we send a clear and unmistakablemessage to HLS and their collaborators, that we turn up in huge numbers, thatwe stand shoulder to shoulder to with those Shac campaigners who cannot bethere for unavoidable reasons. We must not fail them or the animals. Be there.Contact us for any more details, for details of transport from your

area, or ifyou are going and can offer transport to other protesters.SHACinfo 0845 458 0630

Looking for a deal? Find great prices on flights and hotels with FareChase.