CAMPAIGN AGAINST ANIMAL CRUELTY CONTINUES DESPITE GOVERNMENT REPRESSION
Is Recent Jailing of Anti-HLS Activists a Call to Action?
With the recent sentencing of seven activists to long prison terms in the UK for protesting animal torture at notorious contract-testing laboratory Huntingdon Life Sciences, authorities and the animal abusers they protect have drawn a line in the sand. Those who advocate effectively for animals must now either scurry for cover, or rise up stronger to finally abolish the exploitation, oppression, torture and killing of innocent non-human animals for greed, convenience and pleasure.
On January 21, 2009, British courts sentenced seven animal rights activists to prison terms ranging from 4 to 11 years; the sentences totaled an astounding 50 years. The seven activists were members of the group Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty, better known as SHAC, whose mission is to lead the global campaign to stop the killing of animals by Huntingdon Life Sciences. Huntingdon Life Sciences (HL
is a contract research organization based in the United States, after fleeing from England as a result of the activist campaign there that exposed the cruelty and animal abuse taking place at HLS. They kill roughly 500 animals daily testing household products like oven cleaner, as well as pharmaceuticals for companies as big as Glaxo and Novartis.
The activists sentenced are: Heather Nicholson – 11 years, Gregg Avery – 9 years, Natasha Avery – 9 years, Gavin Medd-Hall – 8 years, Daniel Wadham – 5 years, Daniel Amos – 4 years and Gerrah Selby – 3 years. Justice Butterfield, who branded the activists “urban terrorists”, handed down the sentences after convictions of “conspiracy to blackmail”, a charge that requires a low threshold of proof. None of the activists was accused of harming anyone or even causing any property damage.
Upon hearing Justice Butterfield’s remarks, Press Officer Camille Hankins commented: “The real terrorists are the ones that are torturing and killing animals at places like Huntingdon Life Sciences. Justice Butterfield must not have seen the videotape of the atrocities committed at Huntingdon Life Sciences, which included a beagle puppy being punched in the face and a monkey being cut open alive.”
Despite the imprisonment of some of the defendants for over 18 months as they awaited trial, SHAC has continued to plague Huntingdon Life Sciences. According to a recent financial statement, with outstanding debt of $75 million and a plummeting share price, Huntingdon Life Sciences recently announced that they were downsizing their company and planning a move back to England in hopes of securing additional financing to keep them afloat.
In November 2008, HLS reported having lost two key contracts, resulting in an immediate and steep drop in share price. Huntingdon Life Sciences, trading under the name Life Sciences Research (ticker symbol LSR on the NYSE ARCA Exchange) had previously reached a high of $39.30 per share. After a steady and rapid decline, on January 27, 2009, they traded at a low of $6.73, their lowest share price in several years. Hankins speculated: “In light of the current economy and the ramping up of the global campaign against Huntingdon Life Sciences, it would not surprise me if they filed for bankruptcy in the very near future.”
News of the sentences elicited an immediate response from the global network of activists working on the campaign. Solidarity actions and demonstrations are being staged throughout the United Kingdom and around the world. In Moscow, sixty activists protested at the Moscow office of AstraZeneca, one of Huntingdon Life Sciences most important clients. In New York City, the group Win Animal Rights held 3 days of solidarity protests at the homes of investors and customers of Huntingdon Life Sciences. One protest was held at the Central Park West home of Andrew Baker, CEO and Chairman of HLS and another at the home of Robert Kelly, CEO and Chairman of Bank of New York Mellon, one of HLS' largest investors.
“This latest sentencing is a wake up call. Those who suffer the brunt of the state’s repression are those who maintain a high profile in the movement, not those who are clandestinely going about the business of animal liberation….” commented Press Officer and physician Dr. Jerry Vlasak "…The message is clear. Stay safe, stay free and stay anonymous and you can continue to fight for animal liberation by destroying those who exploit, torture and murder innocent animals.”
Neither activists nor the system as a whole can accept defeat on behalf of the HLS campaign, so it has become a strategic point of engagement affecting all animal activists. If a retreat is staged, all targets of protest will know activists can be waited out or crushed; yet if HLS goes bankrupt, every bloodthirsty multinational corporation on Earth will know people have the strength, the tools, and the strategy to make them next in line for bankruptcy.
All about the SHAC7!!!
Director's note
For
the past three years this film has been both a blessing and a curse.
The idea of a "Free Speech" film was of course exciting, not to mention
a hot-button topic. But as I became more immersed in the lives of this
small group of activists and the people that oppose them, I found
myself deeply entrenched in a struggle that has been going on in one
form or another for centuries. I got to see activism, governmental
politics and the judicial system from a different angle and learned
that this struggle is as much about passion, as it is about right and
wrong.
H Partners dumps all HLS (LSR) shares
After Raymond James decided that £7 million shares in HLS blood money were not
for them, or their subsidary Eagle Assset Management, H Partners also made a
quick escape from the campaign against HLS and sold all £11.2 million LSR
shares in mid July.
The sale was confirmed this week by Win Animal Rights in the USA.
H Partners Management
LSR Shares: 459,539
Value: $12,454,000
H Partners Capital
LSR Shares: 368,933
Value: $9,998,000
Combined asset of $22,452,000 / £11,258,085.54
ALL GONE!
Thanks to all supporters and campaigners, including the campaigners that did
demos in the US and London.
Right now the percentage of their institutional investments is listed at 8.63%.
Once the H Partners shares come off it will reduce to about 4 - 4.5% so not
many shares are being held by institutions and companies.
Barclays is the next big shareholder...
Get angry, keep focused, we will not stop until HLS are gone too! For all the
animals that have been tortured and killed by HLS. SHAC and the global animal
right movement will NEVER let you alone.
More news below.....
Another shareholder dumps their shares in HLS as some of the SHAC UK defendants
plead guilty.
Some of you may by now have heard that 3 of the defendants in the SHAC UK
conspiracy trial have pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to blackmail at
Winchester Crown Court. Two of the campaigners, Gregg and Natasha Avery were
already in prison awaiting trial, the other, Dan Amos, has now also been
remanded. Please write letters of support to Dan and all the prisoners. As soon
as Dan's number and address is confirmed it will be posted on the VPSG website:
www.vpsg.org .
Show your solidarity and support at this, one of many injustices we fight to
stop. Get angry, get active.
It is important to remember that this is just three of the thousands of SHAC
activists and anti-vivisectionists in many countries around the world, and the
campaign continues against HLS and against vivisection.
To illustrate the point, today we received cofirming news that yet another
institutional shareholder, Acadian Asset Management (Old Mutual) have sold
their shares. This is the third company to dump HLS shares in less than a
month. This leaves the largest institutional shareholder, Barclays Global
Investors UK Holdings Ltd hold 279,842 shares in HLS (LSR), who are part of
Barclays Bank. Their website is: http://www.barclaysglobal.com (There will be
an email alert about them very soon).
To put this in perspective, this means that less than 5% of HLS shares are
currently being traded. Meanwhile HLS are still around $80million in debt, they
don't own their own buildings or land, and are being propped up by the UK
government who are continuing to provide banking and insurance facilities for a
US registered company. This is an absurd position unprecedented in the history
of commerce or protest groups, hundreds of millions of taxpayers money is being
used to keep HLS afloat, while even more taxpayers money is used by the same
government to persecute those who try to stop the suffering of both human and
non-human animals.
We are all part of SHAC and we will all continue the fight against one of the
most disgusting and exposed companies in the world.
Nobody said it was going to be easy, we must now re-double our anger and
commitment. Don't forget that HLS have to pay back one of their loans of $50
million in a few years and we must not let HLS out of our grasp. Remember, the
only reason HLS is still here is because of our corrupt government and it can
come as no surprise, as this is the same government that are partners in an
illegal war. They will not let ethical considerations cloud their goal of
making money, at any cost. But their unethical policies will cost them dearly
in the long run, the fight goes on.
Eagle Asset Management are now Huntingdon Life Sciences' largest investor with
over 15 million dollars in shares, they are a subsidiary of Raymond James
Please email Eagle Asset Management and Raymond James today, they are the
largest instuitional investor in HLS/LSR and they need to know exactly what HLS
is up to!
PART ONE - EAGLE ASSET MANAGEMENT
Eagle Asset Management
880 Carillon Parkway
St Petersburg, Florida 33716
Sales Phone: 727 567 4682
J Cooper Abbott
Director - Europe
Eagle Asset Management
Email: europe@eagleasset.com
Telephone: +1 727 567 4682
Offices in:
London, England
Copenhagen, Denmark
Munich, Germany
EMAILS: (In blocks of 20)
bert.boksen@eagleasset.com, james.camp@eagleasset.com,
ed.cowart@eagleasset.com, lou.kirschbaum@eagleasset.com,
todd.mccallister@eagleasset.com, richard.skeppstrom@eagleasset.com,
steve.hill@eagleasset.com, nancy.clark@eagleasset.com,
mitch.birner@eagleasset.com, damian.sousa@eagleasset.com,
eric.wilwant@eagleasset.com, steve.faber@eagleasset.com,
craig.dauer@eagleasset.com, rob.hyken@eagleasset.com,
jay.jordan@eagleasset.com, sheila.king@eagleasset.com,
robert.marshall@eagleasset.com, burton.mulford@eagleasset.com,
stacey.thomas@eagleasset.com, jonathan.lewis@eagleasset.com
david.blount@eagleasset.com, jay.daniel@eagleasset.com,
brad.erwin@eagleasset.com, patrick.franke@eagleasset.com,
adam.gallina@eagleasset.com, robert.hahn@eagleasset.com,
joe.jackson@eagleasset.com, scott.renner@eagleasset.com,
dick.rice@eagleasset.com, chris.sassouni@eagleasset.com,
sowmdeb.sen@eagleasset.com, jeff.vancavage@eagleasset.com,
eagleemployment@eagleasset.com, diane.herman@eagleasset.com,
terry.shown@eagleasset.com, ryan.Gainsford@eagleasset.com,
cooper.abbott@eagleasset.com, jim.cieutat@eagleasset.com,
kevin.starnes@eagleasset.com, richard.rossi@eagleasset.com
europe@eagleasset.com, eagleemployment@eagleasset.com, clark@eagleasset.com,
steve.faber@eagleasset.com, mary.sweeney@eagleasset.com,
sclark@eagleasset.co.uk,
SAMPLE LETTER:
Dear Sir/Madam,
It has come to my attention that your company holds over 15 million dollars in
HLS shares (ticker symbol LSR).
HLS are the worlds most notorious animal testing facility and have been exposed
time and time again. They were caught on film punching beagle puppiesin the
face, and cutting open primates without any anesthetic. If you are in any doubt
about what goes on in the secret labs of HLS, then please read what their own
workers say, and see footage taken inside the lab itself:
http://www.shac.net/MISC/Inside_HLS.html
I am sure you will agree the footage taken in HLS is horrific and the workers
account is utterly Shameful. I hope that you can use your position to put an
end to your companies support of the disgusting cruelty at Huntingdon Life
Sciences by selling your shares.
They have also been shown on many occasions to falsify and manipulate research
data, just this year an ex employee has filed a lawsuit against HLS when he was
sacked after refusing to falsify data. If you have no concerns about animal
cruelty then maybe you care about the quality of the research data HLS is
obtaining for you.
You have an important decision to make and I urge that you do not side with
Huntingdon Life Sciences, please turn your back on the cruelty, lawbreaking and
shoddy research that has been proven to take place.
Please contact your directors, and ask them to stop supporting animal cruelty.
Thank you for your time.
09/04/08
ANOTHER COMPANY VOWS NOT TO WORK FOR HLS
YorPower makes a statement
I can confirm that neither Yorpower, Power Plant Services nor our sister
company Techknol Power Generation perform any work on behalf of Huntingdon Life
Sciences and the current management have no plans for future dealings with
them.
Guy Phoenix, Director YorPower
Power Plant Services serviced generators for HLS before YorPower acquired Power
Plant Services in Dec 2007. We very much doubt that they have been told by
Power Plant Services about HLS. They have a right to know about the cruelty
going on inside the walls of HLS and their appalling track record.
TAKE ACTION
Contact YorPower and their sister company Techknol Power Generation and tell
them about Huntingdon's appalling track record for animal cruelty, either in
your own words or in the sample letter provided below.
Remember to please keep all correspondence informative and polite
at all times.
Sample Letter
==========
Dear Sir/Madam
You may not be aware that HLS is the worlds most exposed animal testing
laboratory. They have been caught out on film several times committing acts of
cruelty both in the US and the UK. They have been caught punching beagles
puppies, and cutting open live primates without pain killers. They have been
exposed for shoddy work, and falsified data. During one study on wild caught
baboons HLS broke the law 520 times but were never prosecuted.
Last year, a senior scientist from HLS in the USA has filed a lawsuit after he
claims he was being pressured into falsifying data. This is a sham of a company
with a poor reputation and I should not think you would like to be associated
with this.
I don't expect you to take my word for it but you can see the cruelty yourself,
as shown on national TV: http://www.shac.net/HLS/exposed.html. For other
exposes into HLS, see: http://www.shac.net/MISC/Inside_HLS.html
I urge YorPower and Techknol Power Generation to stop dealing with a lab
involved in such horrific animal cruelty.
Thank you for your time, and I do hope that you will be reconsidering your
position and will not supply HLS.
All emails addresses in this alert:
mail@yorpower.com, sales@yorpower.com, hr@yorpower.com,
info@techknolpower.co.uk, sales@techknolpower.co.uk,
info@techknolpowergen.co.uk
This is the act of HLS people...they're intimidation tactics apparently have worked. Seems they turned this around.....The activists, who, in this case, were the victims, have been made to be the criminals...HLS has big bucks and we all know even the Authorities (police in this case) have their price and HLS pays it!
Important message: SHAC Activists Charged, your support needed
17
activists, many or all of whom had their houses ransacked by the
police, have now been charged with conspiracy to blackmail Huntingdon
Life Sciences. They are all now facing the courts in what will be
several of the most important and biggest trials this movement has ever
seen.
Remember, these people have acted to stop the animals
suffering inside HLS. They fought to get those animals out from behind
bars, and now may end up there themselves. Remember this is all for
what SHOULD be deemed legal activity – they have not acted against the
law. In the meantime, HLS continue to torture animals, cutting them
open alive, punching beagle puppies in the face, throwing them against
walls, pouring poisonous substances into their throats… the list is
endless, but this is all still happening.
This is a clear indication that the campaign is winning.
To put so much effort into arresting and attempting to charge people
who haven’t actually done anything wrong, clearly shows the desperation
of the government and HLS to do something – anything they can clumsily
grasp at – to save their sinking animal abuse industry.
But we can’t all sit back and hope HLS will finish themselves. They won’t, and it will need every ONE of US to do it.
Those charged are still on draconian bail conditions which mean they
are no longer allowed to partake in any animal rights demonstrations of
any kind, or to publish anything animal rights related such as
leaflets, newsletters and so on. HLS are happy about this, as it has
successfully stopped this group of people from doing demonstrations or
anything else.
All the activists want is for people to carry on,
and get out there and come on demos against HLS and their suppliers and
customers. This isn’t just for them, this is for our freedom of speech
and right to protest, which we still have (just!) and need to fight to
keep it. Just as important, this is for those animals dying as you read
this – every three minutes another animal dies inside HLS, alone and in
agony.
To see diary dates, go to http://www.shac.net/dates.html
[ Demos are country wide, transport can often be arranged ]
To see HLS’s customers, go to http://www.shac.net/HLS/clients.html
For all info and enquiries: www.shac.net
To get involved, drop an email to info@shac.net
For
the animals, for our freedom, we must fight, every ONE of us is
responsible for letting these animals die if we do nothing to stop it.
Please repost far and wide.
SHAC
Look into her eyes and tell her why she isn’t important enough to fight for…Show your support at their blog:
Activist arrested on trumped-up charge at Novartis 
(HL demo
Half the world is crazy and the other half don't know what to do about them....because the crazy people need to be recycled!
THE FACES OF VIVISECTION
*Who is Experimented On.?*
Every day inside the walls of Huntingdon Life Sciences ( HLS ) and
other Hidden Animal Testing Laboratories across the country and the
world, Thousands of Different of Animals: Monkeys, Pigs, Puppies,
Kittens, Hamsters, Rabbits, Frogs, Squirrels, Baboons, Horses, Guinea
pigs, Mice, Sheep, Birds, Iguanas, Rats, Chimpanzees, Dogs, Cats,
Woodchucks, Gerbils, Ferrets, Cows, and Others suffer and die in
unnecessary painful sadistic and cruel tests, These Innocent Creatures
are being injected with toxic chemicals, Have tubes forced down their
throats, cut wide open while they are still alive, electrocuted, have
their legs broken while other watch, mutilated and eventually killed.
Approximately 28 million Innocent Animals are Killed each year in the U.S. alone.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Click on the "SHAC Stop Huntington
Animal Cruelty" banner for information as to who Huntington Life
Science's suppliers are. The list can help you to take action and send
your comments and ask them to STOP the use of animals for lab testing
by STOPPING the supplies HLS uses.!
07/03/08
ADVISERPLUS VOWS NOT TO WORK WITH HLS
Companies are queuing up to say no to HLS
read more
ADVISERPLUS VOWS NOT TO WORK WITH HLS
AdviserPlus have contacted SHAC to advise us that they will not work with HLS.
"AdviserPlus does not and will not work for HLS now or in the future."
Karl Chapman, Director
So far so good!!!
"We at Transoma Medical and DSI do not deal with Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS)
or Life Sciences Research (LSR) and would not conduct business with them in the
future or via any third parties."
Brian Brockway
President, CEO and Chairman
Transoma Medical
This is the second company to ditch HLS this year.
general video of the day
a letter read out from one of the interned SHAC members
Speech from Keith Mann on the day.
Unfortunately my video camera packed up straight after the speeches so I didn't get footage of the rest of the day.
It was a good demo.......
And there will be more............
Europe
France
Coalition Anti-Vivisection(CVA)
Website: www.contrevivisection.org
Events Calendar: www.contrevivisection.org/calendrier/calendrier.htm
Notes:
We hold regular demonstrations against vivisection in and around and
all are welcome to join us, however most of our demos are midweek so
please keep an eye on the calendar and make your travel arrangements
well in advance.
Ireland
Alliance For Animal Rights
PO Box 4734,
Dublin 1
Ireland
Email: berniew@esatclear.ie or allianceforanimalrights@gmail.com
Website: www.afarireland.org
Italy
SHAC Italia
Website: www.stophls.net
Netherlands/Belgium
Anti Deirproeven Coalitie(Coalition Against Animal Testing)
Website: www.stopdierproeven.org
Poland
SHAC Poland
Website: www.myspace.com/shac_poland
Switzerland
Swiss Animal Liberation Agenda
Website: www.myspace.com/animalagenda
U.K.
Taunton Animal Rights Activists
Website: www.myspace.com/tauntonara
Western Animal Rights Network
Website: animalliberation.co.uk
MySpace: www.myspace.com/warn_animal_liberation
South West Activists Network
Website: www.myspace.com/swactivists
Somerset Animal Liberation
Website: www.myspace.com/somersetanimalliberation
All
of these groups have worked on the campaign to shut down HLS at one
time or another. Contact them if they're in your area and see if
they're currently working on the SHAC campaign.
South America
Chile
Chilean Coalition for Animal Rights
Website: www.nomasviviseccion.cl
This list was made to provide activists and other groups with
information on groups that have ongoing plans to protest HLS in the
hopes that groups will contact other groups and network with each other
to make activities regarding HLS even more effective, for example if a
group of activists in Sweden wants to protest a company there, they can
look at the list of that companies locations and if there's one in
California or Florida, they can contact groups there with their plans
and have co-ordinated demos or something.
If you know of a group that should be listed here or if any information needs to be changed, please let us know! Also, don't worry if there is no group listed near you, you can start your own or do other things to shut down HLS.
These groups have either protested against HLS in the past, currently do, or are planning to do so in the future, if you are unsure whether they are still active against HLS and would like to plan something with them, please contact them!
Just because nothing is listed in your state or even country doesn't mean nothing is going on regarding HLS! This list is a work in progress, but to find groups in your area, contact all the animal rights groups you can in your area or state and see if they're doing anything regarding HLS, because we know there's other people and groups out there, we just haven't listed them.
23 groups in 10 countries have been listed so far.
USA
California
Bay Area Against HLS
Bay Area, California
Email: bayareaagainsthls@hushmail.com
Website: www.myspace.com/bayareaagainsthls
UCLA Primate Freedom
Los Angeles area, California
Website: www.uclaprimatefreedom.com
Notes: Occasionally does HLS related demos etc.
Connecticut
Connecticut Earth/Animal Defense
myspace.com/ctead
Notes: They have held demos at Pfizer, BMS and Wachovia(who have since dropped HL.
Illinois
Chicago Animal Defense League
Chicago, Illinois
Website: www.myspace.com/adlchicago
Maryland
Baltimore Animal Rights Coalition
Website: www.baltimoreanimalrights.com
Massachusetts
Boston Animal Defense League
PO Box 101
Allston, MA 02134
Email: badl@hush.com
Website: www.boston.animaldefense.info
Myspace: www.myspace.com/animaldefenseboston
Notes: They have had demos at Wyeth, Novartis, and a bunch of local customers and suppliers in the past.
Minnesota
Minnesota Primate Freedom
Minneapolis area, Minnesota
Website: www.myspace.com/minnesotaprimatefreedom
Notes: They hold demos every other week in the Minneapolis area against HLS customers, including Novartis.
New York
Win Animal Rights(NYC)
305 Madison Ave., Suite 449
New York, New York 10165
Email: centcom@war-online.org
Website: www.war-online.org
MySpace: www.myspace.com/winanimalrights
Notes: Currently one of the most active groups fighting HLS in America, if you're in the NYC area get involved with them!
Long Island Animal Defense League
PO Box 1587
Huntington, NY 11743
Email: ADL@riseup.net
Website: www.animaldefense.info
MySpace: www.myspace.com/animaldefenseleague
Syracuse Animal Rights Organization (SARO)
PO Box 37044
Syracuse, NY 13235
Email: info@syracuseanimalrights.com
Website: www.syracuseanimalrights.com
MySpace: www.myspace.com/animalrights
Notes: They have held demos at BMS before.
Oregon
Portland Animal Defense League
Portland, Oregon
Website: www.myspace.com/pdxanimaldefense
Pennsylvania
Hugs For Puppies
PO Box 23819
Philadelphia, PA 19143
Email: hugsforpuppies@riseup.net
Website: www.hugsforpuppies.org
MySpace: www.myspace.com/hugsforpuppies
Utah
Utah Primate Freedom
Salt Lake City area, Utah
P.O. Box 521352
SLC, Utah 84152
Email: info@utahprimatefreedom.com
Website: www.utahprimatefreedom.com
Myspace: www.myspace.com/utahprimatefreedom
Notes: Occasionally does HLS related demos etc.
DAPHNE
- 19 hours
ago
- shac.net
Karen..
This is the actual English demo the story above was in America a solidarity demo.
GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION
Southern California, USA
November 10, 2007
- the notorious and egregious
product-testing laboratory that poisons to death 500 animals a day.Saturday November 10th
Meet 11am, Riverside Car Park, Huntingdon.
There are just a few weeks to go to the National March and Rally in Huntingdon. Please make every effort to attend this very important demo, transport is being arranged from around the country. Please contact us for details of transport from your area, or if you are going and can offer transport to other protesters.
The national March and Rally to the labs at Huntingdon next month will be the first such march for several years. Protests have been limited to 50 people, once a week, after HLS obtained a temporary High Court Order. Earlier this year, the Order was finally granted to HLS, but the terms were varied, allowing for the return of large demonstrations at the site, as well as the use of megaphones during protests.
However the ban on large protests at the sites did not succeed in any way in stopping the campaign. In fact in the face of this repression the campaign to shut down the labs has continued to grow, and has now become a global phenomenen, unprecedented in the history of the movement.
Indeed this is a campaign which under normal circumstances would have been successful several times over. The UK government has repeatedly stepped in and used hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers money to bail out HLS. The government now provides banking and insurance facilities for HLS, the only company in the world with access to such priveleges.
Many have asked us why the government is going to such lengths to keep this digraced and discredited company in business. It is no coincidence and no secret that the government has for many years been funded by a small band of wealthy biotech and pharmaceutical entrepreneurs such as David Sainsbury and Christopher Evans. It is widely accepted now that in exchange for these huge donations, these people received honours (both Sainsbury and Evans became
Lords) and even political power in exchange for these huge donations (the so-called "Cash for honours" scandal). However there has been a lesser known payback; the massive input of resources, the hundreds of millions of tax payers' money, spent on defending the biotech and vivisection industry.
And despite all this, HLS remains $100 million in debt, and doesn't even own its buildings. Only 2% of HLS shares are currently being traded, and even then only on an obscure and little used trading scheme, since all the major stock exchanges still refuse to list them. Even the very few companies who recentl bought shares in the company, are now getting rid of their shares just as quickly. Recent large investors who have been added to the long, long list of companies who have stopped dealing with HLS include some of the biggest names in international finance, such as Dresdner/Allianz, Deutche Bank, Robeco and BNP Paribas.
Yet in recent weeks, HLS bosses have been claiming in the media and to anyone who will listen that the Shac campaign is over, while at the same time still whingeing that no companies are prepared to invest in the company. This is a blatant example of wishful thinking on the part of HLS management. The truth is that despite all the resources and the millions spent defending and shoring up this disgraced and nasty company, HLS is as bankrupt and dependent on government handouts as it ever was.
Hence the recent attempts by the authorities to shut down the Shac campaign by other means, by the use of massive police raids on premises across the country and even abroad, by the widespread confiscation of large amounts of campaign materials and personal property, by the targeting and repression of the campaign organisers, the imprisoning of some, the strict bail conditions
imposed on others.
But all their efforts have failed again. The number of protests and actions since the crackdown has actually increased, and even more countries have joined the campaign, and even more companies have ditched HLS.
It's vital that on Saturday November 10th we send a clear and unmistakable message to HLS and their collaborators, that we turn up in huge numbers, that we stand shoulder to shoulder to with those Shac campaigners who cannot be there for unavoidable reasons. We must not fail them or the animals.
Be there.
Contact us for any more details, for details of transport from your area, or if you are going and can offer transport to other protesters.
SHAC
info@shac.net
0845 458 0630
