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Huntingdon Life SciencesOverview Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS) is a commercial animal testing laboratory in Huntingdon, England. It is the largest such laboratory in the UK. HLS also has another laboratory in New Jersey, America. The work that HLS handles is the animal testing for both human and veterinary medical drug approval, as well as studies on agricultural chemicals, industrial chemicals and foodstuffs. It has clients worldwide, particularly the UK, the US and Japan. Controversy The lab is criticised by some animal rights and animal welfare supporters for documented instances of animal abuse by HLS staff and for the wide range of substances it is willing to and does test on animals, especially non-medical products. HLS has been infiltrated by undercover animal rights activists several times since the 1980s. In 1999, video footage was recorded inside HLS, showing severe breaches of animal protection laws, including a beagle being repeatedly punched in the face. Huntingdon officials claim these breaches are isolated cases and the staff responsible have been sacked and prosecuted. However, the lab has been repeatedly accused by animal rights supporters of further offences regarding animal cruelty. The campaign to close HLS In response to the 1999 video, animal rights activists Greg Avery and Heather James began a campaign against HLS called Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC). It aimed to close the HLS facility within three years. This campaign is still active as of 2004 and involves direct action and demonstrations. It still has the ultimate goal of closing HLS. It targets not only HLS directly, but in addition any company or institution holding business relations with the laboratory, be it clients, suppliers or disposal and cleaning services, thus trying to scare away HLS' business partners. Animal rights adversaries say that targeting of the company is mostly due to the political propaganda effects of a successful campaign against it. They claim that closure of the largest lab in the UK would show that direct action is a resoundingly successful methodology for animal rights supporters. Links with Chiron Animal rights supporters allege HLS has connections with the Chiron corporation. The corporation received an email from a group calling itself "Revolutionary Cells" which said "We gave all of the customers the chance, the choice, to withdraw their business from HLS. Now you all will have to reap what you have sown. All customers and their families are considered legitimate targets,". This was followed by two bomb blasts at the corporation's headquarters in Emeryville. The FBI obtained an arrest warrant for Daniel Andreas. http://sanfrancisco.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2004/02/09/story3.html It is not known if there is a relationship between Revolutionary Cells and SHAC. Animal rights supporters have been served with a High Court injunction http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/3473217.stm preventing them from harrassing Chiron's UK staff in or around their homes. External links
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