It is not just Europe that has been struck by the recent spate of animal rights extremism (to which the North American Animal Liberation Press Officer responded, “We personally can only regret that Mr. Vasella was not present in the home when it burned“). The US has seen a number of attacks which have taken place, rather unsurprisingly, in California. Despite the success of the UCLA Pro-Test back in April, the Californian government has failed to crack down effectively on extremists.
On July 10th 2009 (sorry, I’m a little late) Michael Selsted, an award-winning Warren L. Bostick Professor and Chair of Pathology in the UCI School of Medicine, had two of his cars covered in red paint and a third covered in paint stripper by members of the Animal Liberation Front (ALF). A message was then left for him threatening further actions if he did not quit his work. Let us be clear – when researchers quit their jobs we all lose. Their research is lost, and any potential benefits to humans and animals with it. A more comprehensive report on this attack can be found here.
On 16th July 2009, an ALF cell in Los Angeles visited a firm they believed to be doing business with Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS), a contract research facility which contributes to medical developments for humans and animals.
Fliers were taped to the windows and their flowerbeds were trashed and their lawn signs bent up and ripped from the ground
Despite this being clearly unacceptable behavior, I can’t help feeling that it was more pathetic than anything else – saying this, we should probably be thankful it was nothing more violent.
Cheers
Tom Holder
p.s. Remember to follow Speaking of Research’s blog on Twitter – @SpeakofResearch
Speaking of Research 
What? How is it a benefit to animals? Researchers are brutal animal murderers and deserve to be threatened like here. If only there were more strikers like these amazing animal rights activists. Animals deserve a voice.
The ALF needs to remember not to put human lives at risk. I think most of them are very good about that. The very few who take it too far do not represent the true ideology of the ALF.
I hope to see more economic damage to these disgusting “scientists.” As Helen Keller stated in 1927, “Science may have found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all – the apathy of human beings.”
Shadow: I’m sorry, the murderers got what?
lol. The murderers got pwned.
I saw this letter inn the Funancial Times by a staff member at Eli Lilly.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/14406520-82eb-11de-ab4a-00144feabdc0.html
I hope that it signals a greater determination in the pharmaceutical industry to stand up for colleagues who are threatened by terrorists, even if those colleagues are working for rival firms.