New Labour, New Animal Abuse

The recent pronoucements from the Government about its intentions to 'tackle' animal rights extremists hides a much more searching question about its own duplicity in supporting and encouraging the expansion of vivisection in this country. New Labour and its vague promises to offer a 'New Life' for animals was just that, a vague and empty gesture. The attempt to build Europe's largest primate lab in Cambridge and Oxford Unversity's half-built animal torture lab are both examples of New Labour's willingness to climb into bed with the vivisection industry and kowtowing to the financial might of the pharmaceutical industry. What they are not willing to do is face the overwhelming evidence that torturing animals does not equal cures for human diseases. They choose to turn a blind eye to animal suffering and fraudulant scientific research in order that shareholders and academics can line their pockets and boost their egos.

At a time when the use of animals in research is rising and the apologists for vivisection have been given free reign in the media we could be forgiven for thinking that the animal rights movement is on the defensive. Nothing could be further from the truth however, Cambridge University failed in its bid to build Europe's largest primate lab despite direct interference from both Tony Blair and Lord Sainsbury and the site of the new Oxford animal lab remains silent for the fourth week. New Labour and the unholy alliance they have formed with the pharmaceutical industry and academia has blinded them to some simple truths. We haven't forgotten that this government promised to work towards an end to animal experimentation not to increase it and mealy mouthed words about increasing the number of Home Office inspectors or "better animal welfare standards" are mere window dressing to hide the indefensible. Of course their was always the promise to hold a Royal Commision into the "effectiveness and justification of animal experiments."

Far from opening up the debate about animal experimentation New Labour have done all they can to hide the truth to the point where they are prepared to use draconian powers to stifle legitimate protest and fund future animal labs with taxpayer's money. If there were any doubts about the lengths they are prepared to go, lets not forget, they overturned an independent inspectors report into the proposed Cambridge primate lab. After 11 days of deliberation in which scientific evidence was given on both sides, the inspector was clear in his conclusion that, Cambridge University had failed to show evidence that deliberately brain damaging monkeys had any real benefit in trying to find cures for human neurological disorders. The report was ignored by the secretary of state and planning permission was granted to Cambridge University. Despite this blind prejudice from the government the animal rights movement defeated both the university and the government and democracy won the day.

Oxford University has repeatedly lied about the site on South Parks Rd, first describing it as an 'animal hotel' where no animal experiments would take place and no primates would be used. We now know that in fact the site will be a vivisection lab and it will house large groups of primates. What Oxford University and New Labour have in common is a readiness to lie when it comes to protecting their interests and those who would profit from torturing sentient beings. The central question of animal suffering and scientific validity is lost in a series of soundbites from Home Office officials and University notables who seem to think that a career in damaging monkeys' brains is a passport to unquestioned fawning from the rest of society.

In a time when it has become normal for politicians to abandon principle in favour of toeing the party line, it has become ever more important for us to stand up and be counted. The silence that still hangs over the site on South Parks Rd is something that marks a moment in time for the animal liberation movement but for the animals and real science, it could represent a lot more.

NO OXFORD ANIMAL LAB

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