TONY BLAIR'S STANCE ON ANIMAL TESTING

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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2180687,00.html

The Times May 15, 2006

 

 

Blair backing for animal experiments

Report by David Charter

 

The Prime Minister wants a new law to hide identity of those involved in the

vivisection business

 

 

NAMES of shareholders in companies involved in vivisection could be withheld

to thwart animal extremists, Tony Blair said yesterday.

Mr Blair also pledged to sign the People's Petition, affirming his support

for the right of scientists to conduct legitimate animal experiments.

 

 

 

After threats to backers of the drugs company GlaxoSmithKline, moves against

intimidation from animal rights extremists could exempt entire companies

from the legal duty to publish shareholders' details.

 

Last week three animal rights extremists were jailed for 12 years each for

waging a hate campaign against a family who bred guinea-pigs for medical

research. Their crimes included the desecration of a grandmother's grave. A

fourth activist was jailed for four years.

 

But Mr Blair was accused of not acting quickly enough against animal

extremists to stop them delaying plans for a new medical research laboratory

at Oxford University. The contractor has pulled out citing security

concerns. Evan Harris, the Liberal Democrat MP for Oxford West and Abingdon,

said: " Mr Blair needs to do more than sign petitions. He needs to sign

cheques that will ensure that the police and the intelligence services have

the resources to break open the extremist movement.

 

" Although [the prison] sentences have been welcome, in truth the number of

convictions remains tiny compared with the increasing number of attacks and

incidents of intimidation that scientists and contractors are subjected to. "

 

 

The British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection criticised Mr Blair's

decision. Alistair Currie, its campaigns director, said: " Although Blair is rightly taking a tough stand on extremists, he is wrongly taking a

tough stand in defence of animal experiments. " Mr Blair disclosed that the

Government was to consult on plans to keep shareholders' names secret to

protect the scientists and companies that had saved millions of lives.

 

Mr Blair said: " The appalling details of the campaign of intimidation —

which include grave robbing — show the depths to which the animal extremists

are prepared to stoop. "

 

The Prime Minister said that the planned Company Law Reform Bill would allow

directors to keep their home addresses private to protect them from

intimidation.

 

Companies would also be able to refuse to release the names of shareholders

unless requested for " a proper purpose " . He added that the Government was

considering allowing some companies to keep shareholders' lists secret.

 

He added: " Announcing that I am to add my name to the online petition is a

sign of how important I believe it is that as many people as possible stand

up against the extremists threatening medical advances. "

 

The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry said: " It is

extremely useful that ordinary people are standing up to these animal

extremists and this is one way they can make their views known, by following

Mr Blair's lead by signing the petition. "

 

Jan Creamer, chief executive of the National Anti-Vivisection Society, said:

" We understand this petition has only 13,000 names as compared to over 20

times that number of people who support animal welfare groups on non-animal

research, plus the overwhelming public support for replacement of animals in

testing. "

 

 

 

 

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