Silence from Oxford University

The delegation that presented Oxford University with a list of demands that would ensure the future well-being of the 'Oxford Two' included in its list a request for the University to acknowledge receipt of our demands within 24 hours of receiving them.

Well, it will come as no surprise that there has been only silence from the University. SPEAK would like to reiterate to the University, your silence condemns you. You may feel that issuing one statement claiming that the 'Oxford Two' have been killed is sufficent to placate both the people of Oxford and the animal rights movement.

Sorry to disappoint you but you're going to have to do better than that. You lied to the people of Oxford through various friendly media outlets at the beginning of the SPEAK campaign when you claimed that the building to be erected in South Parks Road was to be "just a holding centre for animals" so that they would have the best environment in which to live.

It was only because a source within your University came to the SPEAK Campaign and informed us that the new centre would not be a holding centre as you described it but would be used to vivisect on animals. Not only did you lie about the real purpose of the centre you persisted with those lies for a number of weeks only admitting the truth when you were forced to, describing your lies as a "misunderstanding", obviously a very long drawn out "misunderstanding"?

That was your first lie to the people of Oxford, now for your next attempt at misleading the public. You denied that Oxford had been in consultation with Cambridge University regarding bringing part of what was intended to take place at Cambridge over to the new lab. Caught out again in a lie. The same source within the university who warned us about your original deception regarding the use of the new centre has informed us otherwise.

Lie after lie after lie. So, put yourself in our position, do you really believe SPEAK and the people of Oxford believe a word that comes out of the University. We have asked for an independent adjudicator to be appointed in order to verify the veracity of your statement that the 'Oxford Two' are dead. At this moment we don't believe the two monkeys were killed 4 years ago, there are too many inconsistencies in your statement.

Part of our list of demands handed into the University required the University to acknowledge receipt of the demands within 24 hours as has already been detailed, however we also require Oxford University to have reached a decision as to the future welfare of the 'Oxford Two' by 12noon on Friday 21st May.

Failure by the University to respond to these demands will be seen as a further attempt to mislead the public. SPEAK believes the public should be allowed to make an informed decision as to the whole vivisection debate, unfortunately Oxford University are playing a different game.

The campaign to free the 'Oxford Two' will continue, the campaign to stop the building of a new centre of torture in South Parks Road will be intensified.

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