imes Higher Education (UK)
US animal-rights attacks on rise
Young UK pro-research activist hired by American foundation to advise
on strategy. John Gill reports
By John Gill
24 April 2008
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=401535&c=1

An escalation of intimidation tactics by animal-rights extremists in
the US has prompted scientists to look to Britain for answers.

This is World Laboratory Animal Liberation week, a flashpoint on the
calendar for academics involved in animal experimentation.

But whereas demonstrations outside US laboratories have been occurring
for decades, recent events suggest an escalation of activities.

In February, arsonists set fire to the home of a researcher from the
University of California at Santa Cruz. Jeffrey H. Kordower, chairman
of the Committee on Animals in Research at the Society for
Neuroscience, suggested that it was part of a wider trend.

"The attacks are more frequent and they are much more violent, and
(targets) include not only the researcher's laboratory but also ...
the researcher, his family, and his home," he told The Chronicle of
Higher Education.

In an attempt to deal with the threat, an activist who helped to
establish a pro-research group in Britain has been drafted in to help.

Tom Holder, a recent graduate of the University of Oxford, helped run
Pro-Test, which staged debates and demonstrations supporting the use
of animals in UK research.

He was invited to the US by Jacquie Calnan, president of Americans for
Medical Progress, who said many scientists were now too scared to
speak up for their work.

Mr Holder will take part in a tour of campuses to try to make support
for researchers more vocal.

"In Britain we found that animal-rights groups were having problems
gathering new recruits (as a result of pro-research demonstrations),"
he said.

There have been high-profile resignations by US academics using
animals in research in recent years.

One scientist shut down a project involving primates at the University
of California at Los Angeles in 2006 after a bomb was left near the
home of a fellow researcher. Another quit his job at Ohio State
University in 2002 after receiving death threats.

But despite concerns about a worsening research climate, analysis
suggests that laboratory activity is not being hindered.

Records obtained from the National Institutes of Health through a
request under the Freedom of Information Act show the number of
research grants involving animals has remained relatively constant
over the past two decades.

A comparison of total numbers of applications and awards by The
Chronicle of Higher Education found that the number involving animals
has stayed near 42 per cent since 1990. Nevertheless, the US is
starting to feel the pressure that scientists in Britain have had to
deal with for years, and some claim that researchers are being scared
into silence.

Frankie L. Trull, president of the Foundation for Biomedical Research,
said: "People are not willing to put their heads up above the parapet
for fear that they'll get blown off."

john.gill@tsleducation.com.

These court decisions are mind boggling. I can not figure how crushing somebodies dreams of a new home is so trivialized as done in this court.


Toledo Blade
Monroe County charges against accused arsonist amended
By ANGIE SCHMITT
BLADE STAFF WRITER
April 24, 2008
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080424/NEWS02/804240362

MONROE - Accused arsonist Michael W. Sykes, 17, faces a reduced,
10-year prison sentence following his appearance yesterday in Monroe
County District Court.

Charges against the former Bedford High School student were amended
from home invasion and arson of a dwelling home to two counts of arson
of real property.

The change reflects the unoccupied state of the two homes he is
accused of setting ablaze, county Assistant Prosecutor Michael Roehrig
said.

Young Sykes also is charged with malicious destruction of personal
property stemming from a March 14 incident when he was accused of
trying to chop down a utility pole with an ax.

The three felony charges carry a maximum sentence equal to half the 20
years he originally faced, Mr. Roehrig said.

In the opinion of the prosecutor's office, the new charges more
accurately reflect the nature of the crime, he said.

"It's not an attempt to manipulate the potential maximum penalty in
any way," Mr. Roehrig said. "It's just our belief that the houses,
which were houses under construction, don't constitute a dwelling
house."

Investigators said young Sykes confessed to an arson fire at an
unfinished home on Brentridge Lane and a nearby condominium on
Fountain Circle.

The teenager said he committed the crimes to protest urban sprawl,
detectives said.

He was apprehended March 16, when he was discovered allegedly
attempting to siphon gasoline from an undercover Monroe County
detective's vehicle.

Young Sykes waived his preliminary examination during pretrial in the
courtroom of Judge Mark Braunlich. His case is being bound over to
Monroe County Circuit Court.

He is scheduled for arraignment on the new charges at 8:30 a.m. May 2.
His bond remains at $1 million with $10,000 additional for each new
charge, according to the clerk of courts.

Meanwhile, a radical, global environmental group called Earth
Liberation Prisoner Support Network is urging sympathizers to send
young Sykes letters of support.

According to the group's Web site, it lends its support to prisoners
in anti-nuclear campaigns, peace activists, and indigenous people on a
case-by-case basis.