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The APP v HLS – Kick them in the Djangoly's
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Keith Mann v Dr Death in The General Election
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The Animal Protection Party v Wickham Animal Labs
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The Animal Protection Party Hunting the Hunt Hag at the General Election
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The Animal Protection Party Project
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Notes from the Animal Protection Trial – Week 6
23/4/10
Prosecution witness called from the UK
English police detective John Madigan involved in investigating animal rights extremism in the UK took the witness stand on Monday of the sixth week in court. He told the court that there had been no contact between activists he has investigated in the UK and the Austrian defendants. He also informed the court that none of the Austrian defendants were in the UK at the time of any of the relevant crimes. This prompted defence lawyers to question the relevance of this particular witness.
His presence as a witness became clear as Dr Martin Balluch told the court that he had lived in the UK until 1997. At this, the English detective suddenly announced that Balluch had a previous conviction from 1993. The conviction was a conditional fine. Following questioning from the defence it transpired that this conviction is a spent conviction and as such is not only no longer legally relevant but it is also not permitted to bring this conviction up in court. In response to this sneaky move by the prosecution Balluch told the judge that this conviction had resulted from an action where civil disobedience had been used in order to prevent the shooting of grouse.
The English detective went on to talk of police attempting to track down Dr Balluch in 1997 in connection with damage to a dog kennel. When asked in more detail about this the detective admitted that the files had been destroyed and that he was only aware of the matter because he had seen a memo about it on the police computer. Later during questioning Madigan confirmed that the investigation had been discontinued.
Asked what the SHAC campaign had to do with Austria Madigan answered that he only had the report of 4 demonstrations in February 2006 from the SHAC website. The Judge wanted to know if any offences had been committed in connection with these demonstrations.
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RSPCA Welfare Scam Exposed yet again
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1620670526?bctid=1624825724
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'Badger cull order lawful'
16/4/10
A judge has rejected a legal challenge to the assembly government's decision to cull badgers in part of south west Wales
Animal charity the Badger Trust applied to the High Court for a judicial
review of the planned cull, which aims to combat bovine TB infection.
The cull area would cover north Pembrokeshire, and a small part of Ceredigion
and Carmarthenshire. Justice Lloyd Jones said the Welsh Assembly Government's
order was lawful.
The cull is expected to take place over the next few months. Rural Affairs
Minister Elin Jones said previously that bovine TB was out of control,
and last year cost the taxpayer nearly £24m in compensating farmers.
She said cattle and badgers were the main sources of the disease and,
to eradicate bovine TB, the disease had to be tackled in both species.
Effect on cattle
There would also be stricter cattle control measures in the cull area. Opponents say it has not been proved that a cull of badgers would significantly contribute to the eradication of bovine TB. Justice Lloyd Jones heard two days of submissions during a hearing in Swansea last month. The assembly government's barrister Timothy Corner QC said there was no dispute about the significance of bovine TB and the effect on cattle. He argued there was a lack of evidence for vaccinating badgers and it had not been qualified scientifically. The Badger Trust's barrister David Wolfe said there seemed to be a different approach to pushing forward with the cull in Pembrokeshire while possibly vaccinating in other parts of Wales at a later date. He also questioned whether the minister had made her decision based on all the facts and all the scientific evidence available.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/wales/south_west/8622873.stm
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Uni Desperate to Hide Experiments
15/4/10
Newcastle University in desperate attempt to avoid disclosing details
on monkey research
News Release
The BUAV has lodged an appeal with the Information Tribunal following last-ditch moves by Newcastle University to avoid releasing information about primate research, under freedom of information legislation. The university has made the extraordinary claim that its animal researchers do not need to have their official licence available when experimenting on animals.
Project licences, issued by the Home Office under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA), are long and highly technical documents, setting out precisely what can be done to animals, what steps must be taken to keep suffering down, when animals can be re-used, when they must be killed and so forth. It is a criminal offence to carry out unauthorised experiments.
Newcastle University initially admitted that it did have the two licences in question but later claimed to the Information Commissioner that it did not, despite sending him copies of them! The university’s argument was that only the official vet, an university employee, had access to the licences, and that the researchers themselves did not need to; nor, it seems, did the senior employee with overall responsibility for animal experiments there or the animal care officer with day-to-day responsibility for the animals. In effect, the university is trying to wash its hands of responsibility for animal experiments carried out on its premises, by its employees.
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Airline Stops Shipping Lab Animals
15/4/10
Activists have persuaded Lufthansa to stop shipping dogs and cats to laboratories.
Read more here: http://blog.peta.org/archives/2010/04/victory_lufthansa.php
Young beagle dogs were photographed confined in crates inside a Lufthansa plane. They were being shipped from Marshall Farms in New York to a Charles River laboratory in Scotland.
The photos are available here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/petaflickr/sets/72157623847244508/
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Huge Dairy Farm Application Withdrawn
15/4/10
Dear Sir/Madam
Notification of Withdrawal
Application Reference: 09/1040/FUL
Proposal: Erection of dairy unit incorporating 8 no cattle accommodation buildings, 2 no maternity/hospital buildings, 2 no milking parlours, holding areas, feed store and associated hard standing, runoff lagoon, anaerobic digestion unit, staff dormitory building, office, weighbridge, internal roads and footpaths and new vehicular access to B1188 (full application) and erection of 5 agricultural workers dwellings (outline application with means of access and layout)
Location: North Of Dunston Heath Lane And West Of B1188 Nocton Heath
Lincoln
Further to your previous comment in relation to the above Planning Application
I am writing to notify you that the application has now been withdrawn
by the Applicants.
Should a revised application be submitted at a future date, you will
of course be formally notified once again and given the opportunity
to submit any comments.
Yours faithfully
Beverley Graves
Administration Assistant
Planning Services
NORTH KESTEVEN DISTRICT COUNCIL
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Animal Experiments Flawed
13/4/10
As a schoolboy, I hated biology for one reason: dissection. I found the smells and sights so repulsive that I vowed to give the subject up, which I did.
Today, like so many people, my head rules my heart when it comes to
vivisection. It disgusts me, yet I am convinced that animal experiments
have an important role in medical research – unlike the extremists
who have threatened children, disinterred relatives and resorted to
fire bombs and death threats to bring them to an end.
I had always assumed that any scientist prepared to endure such opprobrium,
and to wade through the red tape that accompanies animal experiments,
would make sure that the quality of the work was high enough to make
it all worthwhile. But it is with a mounting sense of disbelief that
in recent months I have seen evidence that much animal research is biased
and substandard.
A few days ago, in New Scientist, we reported a study by Dr Malcolm Macleod, a neurologist at the University of Edinburgh, who analysed animal studies in stroke medicine. Having reviewed more than 1,300 experiments in 525 papers, his team estimated that one in six animal research studies is never published, most likely because they described boring or neutral phenomena.
Statistical analysis suggested that this total did not include another 200 unpublished trials, which failed to show that a new treatment had any beneficial effect: a bias that could mean that we exaggerate the benefits of new drugs by up to 30 per cent.
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Sea Shepherd Save Whales
13/4/10
Japanese whalers blame Sea Shepherd for smallest catch in years
Fleet
of ships returns home with 507 whales, short of 935 target, and says
conservation group sabotaged hunt
The Ady Gil with signs of damage after a confrontation with the Nisshin INC PIC Maru in Australia's Antarctic waters. Photograph: Sea Shepherd Conservation Society/EPA
Japan's whaling ships have returned from the Southern Ocean with their smallest catch in years, prompting the fleet's leader to blame harassment by the Sea Shepherd marine conservation group for the shortfall.
The Nisshin Maru, the fleet's mother ship, returned to Tokyo harbour yesterday with just 507 whales, a little over half the target catch of 935, according to the fisheries agency. The haul of minke whales and a single finback was well down on last year's catch of 680.
The fleet said Sea Shepherd's attempts to sabotage the hunt had deprived it of 31 days' whaling.
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NZ Open Rescue: Pig Farm Horrors
13/4/10
New Zealand Open Rescue have produced a new video about the campaign against pig factory farming in our country. The video includes footage from pig farms all over New Zealand, the recent rescue of two gorgeous piglets and a sum up of the political situation here in NZ re: pig farming practices.
Watch the video at our You Tube site, it’s the main video on display http://www.youtube.com/nzopenrescue
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Notes from the Animal Protection Trial – Week 5
12/4/10
After a week's break for Easter this week saw two days in court with the further questioning of 13th defendant Harald Balluch, VGT's office manager and on the following day Bettina Bogner, the head of the special commission responsible for the police investigations
As ever, it was difficult to find any criminal connection to what the 13th defendant had to say and, again, as usual, questioning was based around typical NGO work and email content. Much court time was taken up by a dog called Otto and whether taking him for a walk provides evidence of a criminal organisation – more about Otto below!
Join the international protest
A
massive protest website is now up and running, giving people the chance
to send protest emails to the Austrian political party leaders. The
website has been translated into over 20 languages allowing people from
all over the world to read in detail about this extraordinary trial.
http://www.shameonaustria.org
Is the judge really unbiased?
An important feature of this trial is that there is no jury, the verdict depends upon one person alone: The independent judge. The interest in her neutrality is therefore perfectly understandable. Just how independent is she? The consensus among court observers is certainly that she is not independent, they say that this is clear in her behaviour towards the defendants. This week alone she told the defendants to shut their mouths as they pointed out that Bettina Bogner was reading from prepared papers in answer to questions put to her, whereas this was something that the judge had ordered the defendants not to do.
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Life Saving Animal Research at HLS
9/4/10
WHAT DO THEY TEST?
We have many examples of pointless experiments carried out at HLS, but the ones we feature here are amongst the most striking. Remember every drug or product that is withdrawn because of serious side effects, every pesticide that proves to be carcinogenic, every stupid 'new and improved' household product that we don't need, Huntingdon will have forced that product down the throats of thousands of animals and then passed it safe just for it later to go on to maim, harm and kill humans.
FERMENTED JAPANESE VEGETABLE
In 2009, a Japanese company paid HLS to use and kill 4-week-old rats in a study to test the effects of suguki (a traditional, fermented Japenese vegetable) on the body of humans. This is despite the vegetable having been consumed safely by the Japanese population for well over 1,000 years - something they point out in their own research paper!
The rats were force fed a strain of the vegetable by 'oral gavage' - the scientific way of saying a tube was forced down the animals' throat and the substance pumped directly into their stomachs. Later, the rats were killed and dissected to see what effect it had on the body. Naturally, and unsurprisingly, there was "no clear treatment-related effect and no significant toxicological effect" from the vegetable.
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Internet Censorship Plans
8/4/10
Death Of The Internet: Unprecedented Censorship Bill Passes in UK
“Wash-up”
process used to rush through draconian legislation as a pitiful handful
of MPs attend debate
A draconian Internet censorship bill that has been long looming on the
horizon finally passed
the house of commons in the UK yesterday, legislating for government
powers to restrict and filter any website that is deemed to be undesirable
for public consumption.
The “Digital Economy Bill” was rushed through parliament in a late night session last night after a third reading. In the wake of the announcement of a general election on May 6, the government has taken advantage of what is known as the “wash-up process”, allowing the legislative process to be speeded up between an election being called and Parliament being dissolved. Only a pitiful handful of MPs were present to debate the bill, which was fully supported by the “opposition” Conservative party, and passed by 189 votes to 47 keeping the majority of its original clauses intact.
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Drug Company Conspires
8/4/10
A lawsuit filed last week accuses Johnson & Johnson of conspiring with pharmaceutical consultant Omnicare in an effort to push J&J drugs on nursing home residents, and violating federal Medicaid laws in the process.
As a result of the scheme, "residents were overcharged for their medications, had additional medications administered and were unlawfully switched to Johnson & Johnson drugs," all in the name of increasing revenue, according to the lawsuit.
The suit, filed in federal court in California, says Omnicare -- which "occupies a 'dual' role of a dispensing pharmacy and consulting pharmacy" -- gave certain J&J drugs "elevated status as the default drug of choice" for thousands of nursing home patients. J&J allegedly gave Omnicare "performance rebates" -- essentially kickbacks -- in return for its services. This arrangement was memorialized in a 1997 "Supply Agreement" between the two companies, the suit states.
The agreement provided that the two companies would "meet quarterly to review their joint 'business plan' and 'performance goals,'" and came up with a novel way to deal with the performance-rebates: they would be treated as year-end bonuses.
The drugs allegedly targeted for promotion under the agreement included Floxin, Levaquin, Risperdal, Ultram, Duragesic, Procrit, and Aciphex.
The suit contends that under the agreement, J&J paid to have its drugs labeled as "preferred" -- a status that Omnicare purportedly confers on drugs that receive high marks "for their clinical effectiveness in the geriatric community."
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SeaWorld Trainer's Autopsy Report Indicates Tilly Wasn't Playing
5/4/10
Although
a judge ruled that the video footage showing Tilly the orca attacking
SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau won’t be made public, Brancheau’s
autopsy report was released recently--and it sure doesn’t sound
like Tilly was playing when he grabbed her by the ponytail and pulled
her under water.
According to the six-page report, Brancheau's left arm and part of her
scalp were ripped off, she suffered spinal cord injuries, her ribs were
broken, as were bones in her legs, arms, and face, she had bruises and
cuts all over her body, and, ultimately, she was drowned.
This sounds more like an act of rage than an attempt at “play”
gone wrong. As PETA President Ingrid Newkirk says, “These were
not love bites, but the vented fury of an angry and frustrated being
who has been deprived of everything in life: family, friends, freedom—all
for the sake of human profit and a few giggles.”
Orcas may not have the same sense of revenge that humans do—and
Tilly may not have premeditated the attack—but it’s not
unusual for animals in circuses, zoos, travelling exhibits, and amusement
parks to injure or kill the people who deprive them of everything that
is natural and important to them. And can you really blame them?
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Hard Man Actor has a Heart for Animals
April 2010
A new film http://www.captiveanimals.org/news/2010/circusvideo.html by CAPS exposing the cruelty of animal circuses has been narrated by Nicholas Ball, famous for his hard man acting roles in East Enders and Footballers' Wives. Nicholas showed he had a real heart when it comes to animal suffering and was keen to help CAPS get the message out that people should not visit circuses with animals.
To make the film CAPS went undercover and under the canvas of the Big Top to record the confinement, restrictions and training of animals in UK circuses.
A CAPS investigator working at a major UK circus filmed elephants chained for 11 hours a day, animals being put through their paces in the secretive training ring and an elephant repeatedly jabbed with a metal stick to make her perform.
Other CAPS investigators documented the confinement of tigers in cages, transportation of animals and the meaningless tricks they are forced to perform for a paying audience.
Watch the film http://www.captiveanimals.org/news/2010/circusvideo.html and join us http://www.captiveanimals.org/join.htm today to end animal circuses.
The video is being launched to coincide with World Circus Day on 17 April. WCD is an industry initiative to promote circus-related events. CAPS recognises circuses as an important form of entertainment but rejects the use of animals for ethical reasons http://www.captiveanimals.org/news/2008/ethics.html
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Show dying horses, BBC told, as Aintree faces legal action
4/4/10
Annual Grand National 'carnage' covered up in bid to sell television footage overseas, say campaigners
The BBC has been urged to show the deaths of any racehorses when they broadcast the Grand National meeting at Aintree, which starts this week. Activists claim a television "cover-up" is helping to perpetuate a "national disgrace". The organisers of Britain's biggest race day have also been threatened with legal action if any horses are killed or injured during this year's race.
Campaign group Animal Aid has accused the BBC of "concealment and a negation of basic journalistic standards" by, it says, barely mentioning the deaths of five horses at last year's meeting. In a letter to Barbara Slater, director of BBC sport, it claimed the broadcaster is "fashioning a dishonest, sanitised picture" to maximise overseas sales of footage.
The accusation came as the group launched a publicity drive to get people to stop betting on the race. It plans protests at Aintree course, where a 40-strong field takes on 30 fences over a gruelling 4.5 mile course on Saturday.
Five were killed at last year's Grand National meeting – the highest since 1997. During the past decade, 30 horses have died and many others injured at the event. The campaigners say that more than 500 horses have died on British racecourses since March 2007.
Campaigners claim that race organisers could be in breach of the law, and are threatening legal action.
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Dolphins to be Freed
3/4/10
Controversial Seaworld trainer sets dolphins free
Disillusioned with the industry, a controversial marine mammal trainer has decided to set his last 17 dolphins free.
Chris Porter trained Tilikum, the orca responsible for the death of his SeaWorld trainer last month, when he was living at Sealand of the Pacific in Canada. He says it was the death of veteran whale trainer Dawn Brancheau, 40, at SeaWorld in Orlando that prompted the change of heart. “I have been decided to release the remaining animals back into the wild,” Porter told the Vancouver Sun. Porter owns a lucrative business, capturing animals in the Solomon Islands and selling them to aquariums. He has sold 83 dolphins around the world over the last nine years.
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US Anti-Vivisection Demos
3/4/10
Los Angeles, CA., Recent Anti-Viv Demo Wrap Up's:
Activists
gathered in David Jentsch's neighborhood to educate his neighbors as
to what he uses their tax money for, and to reveal him for the evil
monster that he is. (See YouTube video to view portions of the picket
by clicking here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_crqilitII
David Jentsch is a sick, perverted, primate vivisector who addicts primates
to Crystal Meth and other terrible drugs like PCP. In one of his experiments,
he attempts to create "human schizophrenia" in vervet monkeys
by addicting primates to the monstrous drug phencyclidine (PCP), making
them psychotic. Jentsch forces non-human primates to perform tests while
receiving chronic and heavy doses of PCP. He states, "The effects
of these drugs will be assessed in vivo using a tracer and microPET."
Then he kills the primates and takes measurements of their brain dopamine
levels.
Primates do not use street drugs, nor do they develop "human schizophrenia",
nor can they describe what they are feeling to the experimenter. But
for the blood money he receives off the pain, misery and death of these
primates, Jentsch continues to perform these evil experiments. Imagine
primates purposefully addicted to a monstrous drug like PCP in order
to make them psychotic so that Jentsch can study “human”
schizophrenia. James David Jentsch is truly one of the most evil individuals
in the entire world. Jentsch, like the other primate vivisectors at
UCLA, has the blood and misery of primates dripping from his hands.
Next on the hit parade was Edythe London (she actually looks a lot like
Cruella DeVille from the movie, 101 Dalmatians, but she tortures primates
to death, not Dalmatians...
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ALF v Vivisection
3/4/10
Animal Liberation Front Delivers Incendiary Devices to Four Utah Vivisectors
Actions
Dedicated to Jailed Animal Liberationist Prisoners
Salt Lake City, UT: In an anonymous communique received by the Press
Office yesterday, the Animal Liberation Front claims to have placed
incendiary devices at the homes of four University of Utah vivisectors,
as well as vandalizing their homes and nearby vehicles. Robert H. Lane,
Jennifer Ichida, Allesandra Angelucci and Paul Bressloff are known to
utilize animals from local shelters, as well as non-human primates in
their experiments. Angelucci and Bressloff reside at the same residence.
The communique describes placement of "cocktails" on each
vivisectors doorstep, presumably referring to Molotov Cocktails, simple
devices designed to ignite nearby combustible materials. It is unknown
whether the devices actually detonated or caused significant damage
to the homes.
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Undercover at the Horse Slaughterhouses
2/4/10
Chambers
of Carnage - A Sweeping Undercover Investigation of Canada's Leading
Equine Slaughterhouses
This week, the CHDC released its latest investigative reports on 2 of
Canada's largest horse slaughter plants, Bouvry Exports in Alberta,
and Richelieu Meats in Quebec:
All of the footage compilations from Bouvry and Richelieu have been
uploaded onto YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/user/TwylaFrancois
Video cameras captured footage at both facilities in late February 2010.
What is happening to our horses in these plants is horrible beyond words.
The footage is difficult to view, as they contain images of horses meeting
their end at the barrel of a gun. Those fortunate enough to go down
quickly are spared the suffering of many that do not meet their end
so quickly or painlessly. If you find it hard to watch the footage,
there are also footage indexes that you can read instead.
Links to these reports are on our website at: http://www.defendhorsescanada.org
From Nicholas H. Dodman, D.V.M., one of the world's most noted and celebrated
veterinary behaviourists, a founding member of Veterinarians for Equine
Welfare and Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine Professor
“Noise, blood and suffering is what you get at the Bouvry equine slaughter plant: Horses kicking after they have been shot...
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One Group of Hunt Sabs
Nottingham, Sheffield & Leeds Sabs January – March 2010 Report
Another busy few months of sabbing
Foxes, hares, and our group alike had a few days off from the sickening display of violence and stupidity that is hunting this December and January. Divine intervention, in the form of snow, ice and frost meant that many hunts cancelled several meets.
We were out again on January 16th and had a go at finding some much overlooked beagles, without success. So we decided to call in late on the Badsworth & Bramham Moor hunt. The hunt, who on this occasion totaled only 10 or so riders and about 10 supporters, took one look at us, changed course and headed straight back to their meet!
We helped Cumbria Sabs with a Monday visit to the Ullswater hunt on Jan 25th. This hunt had not been sabbed for 20 years due to their violent reputation, but on sight of around 15 sabs, they decided to run, and hide in the car park of an agricultural college - all day. Result!
We visited the Quorn hunt for the first time in 5 or more years, with Merseyside Sabs at the end of Jan. They too took one look at us and packed up immediately, claiming the weather wasn’t suitable for hunting! With some sabs escorting the Quorn back to their kennels, others went on to the nearby Meynell & South Staffs hunt. At the Meynell a fox was seen by sabs and hunt staff in the same field as the hounds, but due to our presence, the huntsman hunted the hounds along the foxes’ scent, in the opposite direction, leaving the fox to run free. Later in the day we saw hunt staff again taking action to ensure the hounds didn’t hunt in front of our cameras. We know that this hunt (like all the others), kills foxes when left to their own devices.
On Feb 6th we paid a visit to the South Wold hunt, who had not...
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Mel Broughton Freed on Bail
30/3/10
Following an appeal court judgement on the unsafe conviction of animal rights campaigner Mel Broughton, he was this week moved from the far north of England where he was serving 10 years for offences he always denied committing back to HMP Oxford from where he was granted bail pending a further trial, the third. What the media are not saying much about in their ‘animal rights fire bomb conviction’ stories is that not only has Mel been in custody since December 2007 but the jury in Mel’s trial was mislead by the judge and that the forensic evidence was worthless. Perhaps most newsworthy of all is that the very police who visited this event upon Mel Broughton were caught recording themselves plotting to do such a thing in the months before his arrest. Conspiring to get him out of the way by harassing him! The police. More to come from this open news source shortly.
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Animal Protection Trial: Notes from Week Three and Four
29/3/10
Questioning of Jürgen Faulmann, Chris Moser, Elmar Völkl and David Richter. Refusal to cooperate from other defendants
Jürgen Faulmann
At the time of his arrest Faulmann was head of international campaigns for the Austrian animal welfare organisation Four Paws. Faulmann explained at length how Four Paws uses the same strategies and has the same campaigns and target companies as VGT. Wherever the prosecution has tried to argue that VGT activities support the supposed criminal organisation, the same can be said of Four Paws, he told the judge. The fact that Four Paws has been omitted from police investigations points to the destruction of VGT being the prosecution's aim.
Faulmann is charged with liberating pigs and also for animal cruelty in connection with their liberation as the prosecution claim that 3 pigs died as a consequence of their liberation. An independent examination of the dead pigs showed however that the pigs were already dead before the liberation took place. Police tracking of Faulmann's mobile phone does place him near the farm on that day, however, only in the afternoon and very briefly. The liberation had taken place in the night, though, when the tracking of his mobile showed him to be at home. Faulmann explained to the judge that he was with a number of friends on a 5 hour long bicycle tour around his home, which explained his presence. Faulmann and his lawyer argued that if the police would behave as they were legally obliged to then they would include exonerating evidence in the files and it would become clear through the police surveillance records that Faulmann had not released the animals. Faulmann said while he sympathised with the release of the pigs it was not something he would have done because the farmer simply had rounded them up again.
Chris Moser
Chris Moser was mostly questioned by the judge about his art and the motivation behind it.....
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Drop the Charges!
29/3/10
Call-in In Support Of Minneapolis Fur Protesters
As fur protesters and avid animal lovers Isaac Peter and Michael Lawson stood chanting anti-fur slogans on the sidewalk outside of Ribnick's Furs in downtown Minneapolis on March 2, neither expected to be spending their evening undergoing booking at the Hennepin County jail. They had been protesting in the same location, using the same chants for over 5 months -- why would March 2 be any different? Officers (including sargents) had often assuring them "You can chant as much as you want, scream to the top of your lungs for all I care, just don't block the sidewalks". But (date of arrest) took a turn for the worst; when two Minneapolis police officers who Peter and Lawson had never seen before arrived on the scene, entering into the storefront without attempting to engage in dialogue with either protester.
After speaking with owner Bill Ribnick, they exited, informing both protesters they were being charged with disorderly conduct for being "too loud". Both protesters attempted to tell the officers of the circumstances, and that previous officers had given them assurance that they were acting within their rights. The male officer's response was immediately that he "wasn't interested". Peter and Lawson were taken to the Hennepin County jail until bail was posted. When it came time for their arraignment, it became clear that this was not an ordinary "disorderly conduct" charge. Bill Ribnick, owner of Ribnick's Furs – who was not even a party to this case -- was in attendance with a very expensive and affluent attorney by his side, talking with a city prosecutor, as she hugged him and gave him her condolences.
In a disgusting attempt to curb free speech, and a ...
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Physicians Target of Manipulation
28/3/10
In Big Pharma's grasp
While the unholy and enigmatic alliances between lobbyists, insurance companies and their friends in Congress are responsible in large part for the unsettling vicissitudes of health care reform, Big Pharma must surely share in the blame game as well.
No doubt we have all been beneficiaries of research and development, which has led to major breakthroughs in all fields of medicine. We are living longer and, some would argue, healthier lives as a result of medications that forestall the damage due to age-related illness and self-neglect, or bail us out of situations that would have knocked off our grandparents.
But these days Big Pharma is throwing billions of dollars into marketing drugs that really don't do anything new or exciting. In a disturbing trend, pharmaceutical companies are in the business of manufacturing a diagnosis to their drug, rather than working on a new drug for an existing condition. From a physician's point of view, we're seeing resources shifting from the development of important new drugs to the marketing of "me too" variants of existing drugs. In an effort to gain or expand upon patent protection, an existing drug might be tweaked or repackaged ever so slightly, at great cost but relatively little benefit to the public.
So how do drug companies manage to sell drugs we don't need for conditions we don't have? Ah, the power of multilevel marketing.
Sadly, physicians are first in line to be manipulated. Our medical journals consist almost entirely of glossy pharmaceutical ads, with an occasional scientific article thrown in to justify their publication. And there are always those...
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Morrissey, the Media and Lies
27/3/10
Or so they tell us in the Daily Mail Online on March 23 2010 alongside the picture of the man holding a gun over the confused caption ‘Morrissey back animal rights brigade’
Here begins is a glaring example of how the media distorts the truth. On the face of it Morrissey has shot his mouth off and is making threats consistent with those who are about animals enough to get off their arses and do something, but when you take a closer look you see that this story is utter nonsense! It’s regurgitated from one written in the Oxford Mail four years earlier and it makes no sense!
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Austrian Trial Press Conference: Accusations Nothing but Hot Air!
Vienna, 26/3/10
The first four weeks of the trial are over. All accusations have been laid on the table and it is clear that the prosecution's case has no substance
Defendants and defence lawyers gave a press conference on 26.03.10 to mark the end of the fourth week of the animal protection trial proceedings. It was suggested that the case should go down in history not as the “monster” trial as it is being called in the Austrian media, but as the “e-mail” trial, as the case is almost entirely based on the defendants' expressing of opinions in e-mails and internet forums.
Illegal Withholding of Information
The lawyers told the press that police have still failed to present all the results of their investigations to the defence although they are legally obliged to do so. One of the lawyers representing three of the defendants said he found it particularly puzzling that the prosecution have the researching of factory farms as such a central accusation. The photos made during such research make up reports of cruelty against farmers to the State Prosecution, not to any criminal organisation. He went on to show journalists photos of sick and dying animals on factory farms and asked if anyone could imagine a criminal organisation anywhere in the world that would be interested in these photos, because he certainly couldn't.
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The Skin Trade Film Just Released!
From the director of the multi-award-winning documentary film "Behind the Mask" comes the new documentary the fur industry doesn't want you to see.
"Skin Trade" takes the viewer on a journey form the birth of fur used for trading between Native Americans and Europeans, to the exploitation of animals and fur for fashion. The film delves into the corruption and lies perpetrated by fashion designers that claim their fur designs are eco-friendly" as well as those retailers and fur farmers who claim that the animals are killed humanely.
With a pulsating soundtrack by Duran Duran and The Faded, Skin Trade is sure to motivate and inspire designers, celebrities and consumers to stop buying fur and start making a stand.
Featuring John Feldmann, Jorja Fox, James Cromwell, Rikki Rockett, William McNamara, Todd Oldham, Ingrid Newkirk, and more!
With the help of producers John Feldmann (lead singer of Goldfinger and famed music producer), Jennifer Lee Pryor (widow of the infamous Richard Pryor and amazing activist) along with Gene Blalock and The Faded, and title theme by Duran Duran, this film will shatter the fashion industry!
But we still need your help! Please help spread the word or if you are interested in hosting a screening in your area, please contact. Thanks for the support!
http://www.skintradethemovie.com
Watch trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQHx8NQ2bKU&feature=player_embedded
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Fire Bomb Conviction Overturned
25/3/10
An animal rights campaigner jailed for 10 years for plotting a fire bomb attack on Oxford University has had his conviction overturned
Mel Broughton 48,
of Semilong Road, Northampton, was jailed at Oxford Crown Court in February
last year after he was found guilty of conspiracy to commit arson.
He appealed against his conviction earlier this year and, after taking
more than a month to consider the verdict, Lord Justice Thomas returned
to the Court of Appeal today to quash the conviction.
The judge, who heard the appeal with Mr Justice Kitchin and Sir Geoffrey Grigson, said an error in the way the trial judge summed up the evidence to the jury meant the conviction was "unsafe". After an application by crown prosecutors, the judge ordered that Mr Broughton, who was not present in court, be retried on the allegation as soon as possible.
http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/5080704.Mel_Broughton_conviction_overturned/
Additional coverage:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/8585409.stm
Let us not forget that Mel was set up. He did not do what he has been convicted of. They did what they did to him to get him out of the way. Mel, like all activists campaigning against these atrocities, is a thorn in the side of those who perpetrate them. Mel has a slim hope of being freed through appeal but to him the most important thing is for there to be more people on the streets of Oxford. http://www.speakcampaigns.org/
The Animal Protection Party will be standing in Oxford at the General Election in a couple of months. This is a great opportunity that we can all get involved in to raise this issue to new heights and to take away the privileges that Oxford MP Evan Harris has accumulated on the suffering of countless animals. - Keith
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Dogs Suffer Cancer After ID Chipping
24/3/10
'I saw it growing every day, and I could see it taking his life'
Do implanted microchips cause cancer in dogs and cats?
That's the question owners are asking after highly aggressive tumors developed around the microchip implants of two dogs, killing one and leaving the other terminally ill. The owners – and pathology and autopsy reports – suggest a link between the chips and formation of fast-growing cancers.
'I could see it taking his life'
A 5-year-old bullmastiff named Seamus died last month after developing a hemangio-sarcoma – a malignant form of cancer that can kill even humans in three to six months, explains privacy expert, syndicated radio host and best-selling author Dr. Katherine Albrecht. Albrecht, an outspoken opponent of implantable microchips, has been contacted by pet owners after their animals experienced what they believe to be side effects from the procedure.
According to a pathology report, Seamus' tumor appeared between ...
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Adverse Drug Reactions and Drug Failures
From 8th Feb to 14th March
Any or all articles are available on request from vivisectionkills@hotmail.com
· “Diabetes Heart Treatments May Cause Harm.”, “Cataracts From Antidepressants? Study: 22,000 U.S. Cataract Cases May Be Due to SSRI Antidepressants.”, Pfizer shares fall as cancer drug fails, “Roche’s Prostate Cancer Drug Marks a Failure in a Clinical Trial”, “Off-label prescriptions lucrative but dangerous.”, “Novartis Heart, Diabetes Drugs Fail to Prevent Disease in Study.”, “Plavix is given FDA's strongest warning.”, “Pfizer Says Two Cancer Drugs Fail in Clinical Trials”, “FDA Medwatch. February 2010 Drug Safety Labeling Changes” - 24 boxed warnings added, Health threat of drug promotion to elderly in care homes, Alzheimer’s drug fails, “Roche, Biogen suspends arthritis drug after deaths”, “Astra's colon cancer drug fails test.”
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Hundreds of Hens Rescued
Jan 2010 saw 100 hens were liberated from a battery unit in the UK. This was followed by several visits by unknown activists to farms in the Midlands region where a further 200 hens were rescued from a battery hell. Four piglets were also secreted away under cover of darkness and will now no longer be heading for the slaughterhouse.
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Patrick Moore Hates Animal Cruelty
Astronomer Patrick Moore sounding off about animal cruelty and pondering the notion that those who gain pleasure from inflicting cruelty to animals are not of this planet.
Watch video:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/the_daily_politics/7936812.stm
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GSK Vaccine Contaminated
22/3/10
Rotarix rotavirus vaccine contaminated, officials say
(CNN) -- Federal health authorities recommended Monday that doctors suspend using Rotarix, one of two vaccines licensed in the United States against rotavirus, saying the vaccine is contaminated with material from a pig virus. "There is no evidence at this time that this material poses a safety risk," Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg told reporters in a conference call.
Rotarix, made by GlaxoSmithKline, was approved by the FDA in 2008. The contaminant material is DNA from porcine circovirus 1, a virus from pigs that is not known to cause disease in humans or animals, Hamburg said. About 1 million children in the United States and about 30 million worldwide have gotten Rotarix vaccine, she said. Rotavirus disease kills more than 500,000 infants around the world each year, primarily in low- and middle-income countries, she said. Before rotavirus vaccine became available, the disease was blamed for more than 50,000 hospitalizations and several dozen deaths per year in the United States, she said.
The FDA learned about the contamination after an academic research team using a novel technique to look for viruses in a range of vaccines found the material in GlaxoSmithKline's product and told the company, Hamburg said. The drug maker confirmed its presence in both the cell bank and the seed from which the vaccine is derived, suggesting its presence from the early stages of vaccine development, she said. The FDA then confirmed the drug maker's findings.
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Hunt Monitor Fears More Violence
21/3/10
Animal rights gyrocopter pilot fears reprisals
The Gyrocopter pilot who was cleared of killing a hunt supporter in the Midlands says he fears reprisal attacks, and believes that his family might have been safer had he gone to prison. Details of Bryan Griffiths’ home address and the location of his copter were discovered in the Land Rover belonging to the dead man, sparking fears that they might be targeted. Speaking for the first time of his year of hell, animal rights enthusiast Mr Griffiths, talks to the Sunday Mercury about the accident, his time in prison and his opposition to fox hunting. The 55-year-old self-employed heating engineer from Bedworth, near Coventry, has installed CCTV at his home, and takes safety measures such as noting car registration plates. “Even before the trial I thought we would be safer if I was convicted rather than acquitted,” he admits. Mr Griffiths was cleared of the manslaughter of hunt supporter Trevor Morse last Wednesday after a two-week trial at Birmingham Crown Court.
A jury found him not guilty of killing Mr Morse at Long Marston airfield, near Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. The pilot, and a passenger, had been monitoring the Warwickshire Hunt from the air on March 9, in the £38,000 Gyrocopter he re-mortgaged his house in order to buy. When he landed at the airfield to refuel, Mr Morse, 48, stood in his path, refusing to move out of the way. Mr Griffiths told the court how he feared for his safety. As the copter edged forwards, the rear propeller of the aircraft – moving at a speed approaching 200mph – struck the hunt supporter, killing him instantly.
The incident was caught on camera by Peter Bunce, who had taken fuel to the airfield – and the jury was shown the shocking footage a number of times during the trial. Judge Mrs Justice Slade said there had been simmering tensions between the two groups, leading up to the death of Mr Morse. The pilot had repeatedly denied manslaughter by gross negligence and was found not guilty by jurors after deliberations of seven and a half hours.
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Violent Undercover Policing
21/3/10
Political activists call for inquiry after revelations about undercover Police
Protest groups that were targeted by infiltrators plan legal action to obtain access to police files after disclosures by Officer A
Political activists have reacted with anger to revelations in last week's Observer that their organisations were infiltrated by an elite undercover unit of the Metropolitan police. Members of one of the groups demanded a public inquiry after the Observer disclosed that a former member of Special Branch, known as Officer A, had infiltrated far-left organisations in the mid-1990s to gather intelligence about potentially violent demonstrators. He was regularly involved in brutal confrontations with uniformed police officers and activists from the extreme right. On numerous occasions he engaged in violent acts to maintain his cover.
Many activists suspected they were being infiltrated by the state at the time, but it is only now that their suspicions have been confirmed. One target of Officer A, a former student union leader who has asked not to be identified, told the Observer: "I suspected that my phone might have been tapped. I believed that there might have been some police spies at the demonstrations that I attended. But however paranoid I was, I never imagined they would go so far as to invest the level of resources needed to give someone a completely new identity for five years and have them spy on someone like me. It really is astonishing."
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Interview with Dr Ray Greek
Ray Greek received his MD from the University of Alabama-Birmingham School of Medicine in 1985 and completed his residency in anesthesiology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in1989. He is board certified in Anesthesiology with sub-specialty certification Pain Management. He has practiced in two university teaching hospitals where he performed research with human. Prior to that research he participated in research with animals. He has published in the scientific and nonscientific literature, appeared on numerous television broadcasts including the BBC and CNN. Since 1996 he has been President of Americans For Medical Advancement, based in California.
Antidote Europe (AE): Could you describe to our readers how you came to question the efficacy of animal experiments? The first book you wrote ("Sacred Cows and Golden Geese: The Human Cost of Experiments on Animals") was co-authored by your wife, who, interestingly, is a veterinarian.
Ray Greek (RG): During the late 1980s, my wife Jean was attending veterinary school at the same university where I was teaching in the medical school. She would come home at night and we would discuss the treatments we were using on our patients, the various illnesses they were suffering from, the ways we were anesthetizing them and so on. We quickly noticed that her patients-dogs, and cats had very little in common with mine. Illnesses that routinely killed humans did not affect her patients and drugs she used could not be prescribed to humans. This led us to question whether research conducted on animals, under the guise of finding cures and treatments for humans, was rational. After several months of rather detailed discussion, I asked numerous physician-researchers if what they did with animals actually led to the development of treatments for humans. All responded that while the specific research they conducted did not, the research others were doing did in fact lead to cures. I found this very interesting because what each researcher was saying was that animal-based research helped the other guy. Everyone assumed animal-based research was immensely important to someone else. It was actually quite funny going from researcher to researcher and hearing the exact same thing.
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Glaxo Funded 'Danger' Drug
19/3/10
Pharmaceutical giant accused of skewing debate about diabetes treatment linked to heart attacks
More than nine out
of 10 scientists who backed a drug at the centre of a safety scare had
financial links to the pharmaceutical industry, a study has found.
The disclosure will renew concern about the influence of the multinational
companies on patient safety, where a warning about a drug can wipe billions
from their balance sheets.
The pharmaceutical industry has become adept at manipulating results and selectively withholding unfavourable data that could expose patients to harm. Now it is accused of skewing the debate over one drug, Avandia, prescribed to millions of people around the world with Type 2 diabetes. Avandia, made by the British multinational GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), which helps diabetics control their blood sugar levels, was linked with an increased risk of heart attacks in research published in 2007.
Since then debate has raged within the scientific community about whether Avandia should be withdrawn from the market. Warnings were issued on both sides of the Atlantic but the drug is still recommended by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) in the UK and taken by tens of thousands of British patients.
In the US, internal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) documents leaked to The New York Times last month said 500 heart attacks a month could be avoided in the US if patients on Avandia were switched to a rival drug. A separate investigation by a cross-party US Senate committee was sharply critical of GSK, saying it failed to warn patients of the heart risks earlier. It also said GSK executives had "attempted to intimidate independent physicians".
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Mink Scarper
126 Minks were released from a farm in Teruel last Tuesday:
101 of them have been recaptured. The owner says that since he started the mink farm in 2002 he has had 7 incidents but this is the first liberation. The rest of the incidents were stealing solar panels and stuff like that.
It seems that the farm was alarmed and the cages were closed with wires.
http://www.heraldo.es/noticias/teruel/un_sabotaje_una_granja_albalate_provoca_una_plaga_visones_orillas_del_rio_martin.html
Read Extract from the book 'Live Mink and a Dying Empire'
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9/11 Firefighters Stand up to the Extremists. This is Red Hot!
Finally, a Seattle FireFighter Eric Lawyer, for truth group for Fire Fighters to stand up and join. No longer silent, while the pieces of their fellow NY Fire Dept. firefighters lay buried in the landfill without dignity or proper burial.
Thanks to the Architects for Truth. The Science is finally proving that 911 was in fact an inside job, not made up by Conspiracy "nuts", but here Eric Lawyer states flatly that the Book for Forensic preservation of evidence from a crime scene was blatantly ignored. True. But no one better than a FireFighter familiar with the "book" to say so. Willie Rodriquez was erased from the fraudulent Federally tainted so called 911 investigation, Prof. Jones thermate evidence ignored, Key witnesses were scene being thrown out for trying to testify. BUSH & Cheney and Rumsfelt got their Rubber stamp Congress to pass a law, that they can NOT be indicted if torture, or anything illegal they did should be later found to be a crime. What greater admission of guilt need we? WE THE PEOPLE, should expect another type 911 event and soon, now that Eric Lawyer and the Architects & engineers for 911 truth have scientifically proved that planes did NOT take down two of the three World Trade Center buildings. FACT is 47 story 7WTC bldg also came down 6 hours later and NO PLANE hit it at all. But the video of that 3rd bldg which Silverstein ordered "Pulled" by demolition charges was NEVER broadcast on West Coast, and ran only once in N.Y.C. by BBC & NBC which called it about 22 minutes before it actually came down.... supposedly from small fires, which never EVER happened before to a steel frame and concrete building, and in only 6 hours of small fires, later on Sept. 11, 2001. No ONE on West Coast Saw that, because CNN & FOX & the rest CENSORED it.
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Hunt Pack Savages Family Dog
19/3/10
The USPCA is calling for a change in the law to make hunts more liable for the actions of their hounds after a pet dog was torn to pieces. The incident occurred near Newry on Saturday when a pack of hounds ripped a family's pet dog apart in front of two young cousins. The boys were walking their pet, Pip, in the fields when the hunt arrived. They spoke of their horror as the out-of-control animals tore the little Jack Russell-type dog to bits.
The boys said one member of the hunt got off his horse and examined what was left of Pip. He then threw the various parts into the hedge. When the boys asked him if their dog was dead, he replied 'yes', got back on his horse and rode off.
As the law stands, hunts are not held liable for the actions of their hounds. The USPCA want the new welfare of animals act to change all that. The BBC spoke to several members of Newry Harriers but none wanted to make comment on the incident. When the USPCA heard about what had happened to Pip, they brought the children a new pup. He was an immediate hit and there is no doubt he will help to ease the pain. Sadly, though, the shock of what happened seems certain to remain with the boys for a long time to come.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/8575497.stm
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Animal Rights Activist Released from Custody
18/3/2010
A woman detained by federal authorities for refusing to testify before a grand jury considering a University of Iowa animal lab break-in was released from custody Thursday. Carrie Feldman, 20, was ordered held by federal Judge John Jarvey after she refused to testify before the Davenport-based grand jury in November. Her attorney, Jordan Kushner, said the order to release Feldman stated her testimony is no longer necessary. "I don't know of any reason for her to have any more involvement in the future," he said.
Feldman's release
comes three days after FBI agents raided a home in Salt Lake City, Utah.
One of the targets of the warrant was Peter Young, an animal rights
activist who served time in federal prison for fur-farm raids in the
1990s, documents show. His name had been mentioned previously in connection
with the case.
The U.S. Attorney in Davenport is prosecuting the case. Spokesman Mike
Bladel declined comment. Neither Feldman nor Young could be reached
for comment.
Feldman, of Minneapolis, was ordered held in connection with an investigation into an Animal Liberation Front, or ALF, action at the University of Iowa in 2004 that caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage. University officials are now building an animal research facility underground, citing security concerns. The action was designated as a domestic act of terrorism.
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Vegan Activists Condemn Raid of their Home by FBI
17/3/10
Their doormat says, “Come back with a warrant.” The FBI did.
As scary as it is to have the FBI seize two pairs of Vans sneakers—among dozens of other more valuable items—the property seizures are not the top complaint from a house of Salt Lake City vegan activists who were served a search warrant by the FBI Monday. http://www.cityweekly.net/utah/blog-3307-slc-home-raided-fbi-search-warrant-names-activist-.html They say the obstruction of their animal-rights political movement is the real sin.
“They took my shoes, and that was no way within the scope of the warrant,” says animal rights activist Peter Young. “So I'm stuck with these dress shoes.”
Cell phones, computers, even an iPod were among the expensive items taken by the FBI, but also sentimental items like photographs and a postcard from Iowa. More than 50 items in all were taken, but they don't trust that the FBI properly cataloged all the small items, like individual photographs, because they were not allowed to observe the agents as they poked through their personal belongings.
Nothing illegal was found. There were no arrests. The residents were not hand cuffed nor did the plain-clothes agents draw weapons. Most of the residents were detained for eight hours without being allowed to use the phone—not even to call their employers to explain their absence. At least one ...
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Hunt Monitor Cleared of Manslaughter
17/3/10
Bryan Griffiths was found not guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence
A gyrocopter pilot has been found not guilty of killing a hunt supporter who was struck by the machine's propeller. Bryan Griffiths, 55, was acquitted of the manslaughter by gross negligence of Warwickshire Hunt member Trevor Morse at Long Marston airfield in March 2009. Birmingham Crown Court heard Mr Morse, 48, refused to move as the craft went towards him and died instantly. Mr Griffiths, of Wiltshire Close, Bedworth, had been monitoring the hunt and stopped at the airfield to refuel.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/coventry_warwickshire/8571913.stm
Watch ITV News Coverage: http://www.itv.com/central-east/gyrocopter-case08955/
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Pfizer Hid Evidence That HRT Causes Cancer
17/3/10
A Philadelphia jury has found drug giant Pfizer Inc. guilty of deliberately ignoring evidence that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) drug Prempro increased women's risk of breast cancer, ordering it to pay unspecified damages to defendant Connie Barton.
Millions of women used Prempro and other HRT drugs up until 2002, when the groundbreaking Women's Health Initiative study found that taking the drugs significantly increased women's risk of breast cancer and death from cardiovascular disease. The risk was so striking that researchers called an early halt to the study out of concern for participants' lives. The drugs were -- and still are -- marketed to relieve the symptoms of menopause, such as hot flashes, mood swings and night sweats.
More recent research suggests that HRT drugs also increase women's risk of dying from lung cancer.
Although Prempro was marketed by Wyeth, Pfizer assumed liability for ...
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Jury Retires in Gyrocopter Case
16/3/10
A jury in the case of an animal rights enthusiast who piloted a gyrocopter which killed a hunt supporter has retired to consider its verdict
Bryan Griffiths,
55, denies manslaughter by gross negligence of Warwickshire Hunt member
Trevor Morse at Long Marston airfield in March 2009. Mr Morse, 48, refused
to move out of the way as Mr Griffiths went towards him, Birmingham
Crown Court heard. Mr Griffiths, of Wiltshire Close, Bedworth, had been
monitoring the hunt. During the two-week trial, jurors have heard Mr
Morse's head was cleaved "from top to bottom" by the blade
of the gyrocopter as he tried to stop it from taking off.
Mr Griffiths had stopped at the airfield, near Stratford-upon-Avon,
to refuel. The incident was caught on camera by the man who had taken
fuel to the airfield, Peter Bunce, and jurors have watched the footage
a number of times during the trial.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/england/coventry_warwickshire/8570730.stm
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A Picture Paints a Thousand Words
14/3/10
You see them in the fields eating grass and later in the supermarkets all wrapped up in cling film and, well, dead. What of the significant bit in between, how come we don’t see that very much? It’s nothing like being there but take a quick look at the few poignant images here and you will understand all you need to about this missing time. If you are moved please act, take this product out of your life or share these photos with others and bring some change to this world.
Inside a European slaughterhouse:
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GM Muscle Fish
13/3/10
Meet Arnie, the Terminator Trout with the physique of a body-builder
Scientists have created a genetically-modified trout with the rippling muscles of a body-builder. The mutant fish is the result of a decade-long effort by Terry Bradley, a professor of fisheries and aquaculture at the University of Rhode Island. The rainbow trout’s enhanced muscle mass is between 15 to 20 per cent higher than that of a standard fish, thanks to Professor Bradley’s research into the inhibition of myostatin, a protein that slows growth. The increased muscle mass will have commercial benefits in that larger fish can be grown without increasing the amount of food they need. While the physical differences in the fish include a prominent dorsal hump, making it look as if it has muscular shoulders, and the appearance of ‘six pack abs’, no differences in behaviour have been noted.
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Animal Protection Trial – Week 2 in a nut shell
13/3/10
Most of this week saw DDr Balluch being questioned. His questioning was concluded by him stating that the only accusations against him have been discussing and expressing opinions and taking part in NGO legitimate i.e., non-criminal activities. He has no intention of refraining from either.
On Thursday 11 March questioning began of Mag. Felix Hnat, head of the Austrian Vegan Society. The accusations against him consist of fully NGO compatible activities which the prosecution attempts to connect to animal rights related crimes. His questioning will continue on Monday 15 March.
The judge continues to disrupt defendants and defence lawyers and not let them finish speaking. The judge also repeatedly quoted from faulty translated documents presented by the prosecution despite being informed of incorrect translations.
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Campaigner with a Bone to Pick About Inbreeding
Jemima Harrison is persona non grata in canine circles after her film, Pedigree Dogs Exposed, highlighted the problems of inbreeding. Undaunted, she smuggled herself into the first day of the annual show to find out whether the issue has been confronted. Jerome Taylor joined her
As the Basset Hounds made their way onto the green carpet at Crufts yesterday afternoon, a tangible air of excitement swept across the crowd of spectators who had gathered to watch. With their floppy ears, droopy eyes and trademark baggy trouser legs they bounded across the room impeccably behaved, their paws padding in perfect synchronisation with their proud owners.
One by one they were slowly whittled down by Siegfried Peter, a stern-looking judge from Germany who dismissed the hapless losers with a flick of his wrist. As the forlorn owners traipsed back to their benches, an animated buzz rose from the crowd as fans and experts alike furiously debated who should have won.
One woman stood alone in the crowd. "The Bassets are a desperately controversial breed," she said, her arms tightly folded. "They're meant to be working dogs, trained to hunt rabbits, but look at all those folds of skin. Those droopy eyelids can get very easily infected and it can't be comfortable to have so much spare skin. This year's batch looks a little better but there is still so much work to be done."
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Feds Raid Homes
13/3/10
FBI agents and law enforcement from multiple agencies have raided a well-known activist group house in Salt Lake City, Utah, today in connection with an investigation of Animal Liberation Front crimes in Iowa.
I just got off the phone with multiple housemates who were there witnessing the raid, and who were able to read the warrant. Details about all of this are still emerging, but at this point it is clear that the warrant was issued by the Southern District of Iowa, and authorizes the seizure of any books, pamphlets, computers and other materials tied to “animal enterprise terrorism.”
Some background: In Minnesota, a graduate student named Scott DeMuth has been indicted on conspiracy charges under the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act. The charges are related to a 2004 raid by the Animal Liberation Front at the University of Iowa.
Another Minnesota activist, Carrie Feldman, has been jailed for refusing to testify about her political beliefs and political associations before a grand jury. Feldman was a teenager at the time of the ALF crime, and says the grand jury is clearly an attempt to harass and intimidate the activist community.
So how did the FBI end up in Utah? One of the housemates, Peter Young, is repeatedly mentioned by name in the warrant. Young was one of the first people prosecuted for “animal enterprise terrorism” in connection to fur farm raids in the late 90s. (His co-defendant Justin Samuel is also mentioned in the warrant). He served two years in prison, and has been living in Salt Lake City, speaking at colleges, and writing on his website, Voice of the Voiceless. He is among the most vocal, public supporters of the ALF and direct action.
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Stadium Closes 200 Homes Needed
12/3/10
200 Greyhounds now desperately need re-homing, due to the upcoming closure of the Portsmouth Greyhound Track. If anyone thinks they would be able to adopt or foster one of these lovely animals email: homing@greyhounds4u.co.uk (ensure you write the word 'greyhound' or 'G4U' in the subject line of your email, or within the email itself) or ring 0787 961 5471.
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