Capital Gains – Funders demos, Weds 9th August, London

As masked workers continue to do the government's bidding down in South Parks Rd, forty supporters of the SPEAK campaign met in London to pay a visit to some of Oxford University’s funders. Oxford University gained over £183 million in external research grants during 2004/5 with many of the companies, charitable trusts and public bodies not being aware of the nasty secret that lurks within the closed walls of the university’s animal labs...a situation we intend to rectify!

Exposing the truth at the offices of the Royal Society However some of the grants do come from those involved in animal abuse and our first port of call was to the Royal Society. This august body has traditionally championed the field of scientific endeavour but unfortunately has decided to also champion the discredited and unethical shambles that is vivisection, they also help fund Oxford University.

The forty activists lined up outside the large offices of the Royal Society with banners and placards to begin the demo. A representative from SPEAK called to the people staring out from the windows and invited someone from the Royal Society to come out and answer our questions, this request was met with windows being banged shut and blank stares, not really the response you would expect from such distinguished people!. Not to be put off the activists made sure they heard the truth about animal suffering at Oxford University and they can rest assured they haven’t seen the last of us.

Next we set off for Victoria and the Sainsbury family trust and Rolls Royce. Once again we lined ourselves up outside and made our presence known. It is important for companies and charities to remember that just because they don’t directly fund animal research at Oxford it does not mean they can just bury their head in the sand and claim ignorance when dealing with an institution that has been responsible for the suffering and death of literally hundreds and thousands of animals.

Workers and passers-by were told about 'George' the primate who was deliberately blinded by an Oxford University professor. Our last visit of the day took us to one of the offices under the control of the 'Office of the Deputy Prime Minister' this being a government dept lorded over by John Prescott. It is worth remembering that Mr Prescott is the man who has direct control of the Fire Service College at Moreton-in-Marsh which is where the masked extremists are currently being housed, courtesy of the taxpayer’s money.

It also worth reminding ourselves that the same Mr Prescott saw fit to ignore the government's own appointed independent inspector when he recommended that Cambridge University be denied planning permission for what would have been the largest primate research facility in Europe. Once again we lined up outside the large offices and made our presence known. As with all the funders visited on this day, the 'Office of the Deputy Prime Minister' has funded Oxford University directly.

The day's visits were a great success and this is in no small part down to the sheer determination and resourcefulness of all those who will not be silenced. In times when our basic rights are under attack and the government and media have tried to literally stamp us out, it is now more important than ever that we stand up and be counted.

For George it is too late, but for countless millions of other animals destined to die in vivisection laboratories, anything else would be a betrayal. See you next time.