ANIMAL FORUM

Securicor to quit animal testing lab

By Rosie Murray-West (Filed: 31/01/2004) Daily Telegraph

Securicor, the worldwide security group, has ended its contract to
protect animal testing business Huntingdon Life Sciences.The company,
which has guarded the gates at HLS for three or four years, has seen
its regional offices and management become the target of animal rights
activists in recent weeks.

Yesterday Securicor said in a statement that we will not be renewing
our contract beyond March 31, when the current contract expires. In
the meantime we are obliged to provide security services for HLS under
the terms of that contract, the statement said. Securicor refused to
comment further.

However, Brian Cass, chief executive of HLS, said that the regional
offices of Securicor had endured only a few ladies with placards and
a bit of noise before faxing HLS last Friday to announce that they no
longer wanted the job. Isnt it a joke? he said.

Asked if he was angry with Securicor, he replied: We could shout, but
they might not like that - it might intimidate them. After all, they
are a security company.

He said Securicor had given no concrete explanation of its position,
but had made a reference in a telephone conversation to concerns over
the safety and wellbeing of their staff. Its a typical response,
he added.

HLS, which tests drugs and chemicals on rodents and other mammals, has
had a number of associated companies terminate contracts after
sustained pressure from an organisation called SHAC, which stands for
Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty.

Last March, Deloitte & Touche quit as auditors for the business, and
the company has moved its listing to the US to prevent intimidation of
its shareholders.

The company was at one point also forced to use the Bank of England as
a lender of last resort after other businesses pulled banking
facilities from HLS.

Mr Cass, who was awarded a CBE two years ago, said Securicor had faced
much less pressure than companies such as Deloitte & Touche before
deciding to stop working with HLS.

He added that he had nothing but praise for the Securicor staff who
had actually guarded Huntingdons complex in Cambridgeshire. They
have put up with all kinds of abuse and intimidation, he said.
Theyve been here for three or four years and they have been tough,
rough times.

He said that Securicor itself had recognised the job that its staff at
HLS had done by awarding them Security Team of the Year on two
separate occasions.

Mr Cass added that the company was exploring other options to make the
site secure, but that he didnt want to discuss them in public.

Securicors resignation comes at a difficult time for the
biotechnology industry after Cambridge University decided earlier this
week to scrap a planned primate research centre in Girton.

Prominent scientist and pro-vivisectionist Colin Blakemore is also
understood to have been passed over for an honour in the New Year list
after giving vocal support to animal testing.

On Thursday night, the Bioindustry Association gave Prof Blakemore an
award for Outstanding Personal Contribution to UK Bioscience.
Presenting the award, BIA head David Chiswell denounced animal rights
extremists intimidatory tactics.

One of our priorities this year is to continue to push for a single
piece of legislation to combat extreme animal activism, he said.