SHAC blikt terug op een succesvol actiejaar 2009 tegen Huntingdon Life Sciences

We will continue against HLS in 2010

31-12-2009 SHAC, UK


Every single day of the year, whether it be Christmas, Hanukkah, Solstice or New Year, workers at HLS continue to abuse, torture and kill animals inside their facilities. There is no holiday for these animals, nor will there be until we win once and for all.

In 2009, there was well over 900 protests in 25 countries on every inhabited continent on the planet. This was over 100 more protests than 2008, with 5 more countries joining the global movement to smash HLS. As well as this HLS were exposed yet again in late 2008, causing untold suffering to primates.

Later in 2009 they had the gall to lobby for the continuation of the use of wild caught primates in European laboratories.

As well as the increase in actions, 2009 has been a monumental year for the campaign, as strategic targeting of shareholders forced HLS' share price into free fall, resulting in a rushed buyout of the company by their own CEO Andrew Baker. This means that HLS are no longer on any stock exchange, and have no shareholders. When you consider how desperate HLS were to get onto the prestigious New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), to have now been forced to become a private company is the last thing they wanted. As can be seen from their own documentation by an independent financial consultancy, it happened because the only other option left to them was bankruptcy.

Just when things couldn't seem to get better (or worse if you are HLS!), SHAC made another huge breakthrough. In 2006 HLS were saved from imminent closure by a massive loan after Stevens Inc pulled out. HLS (and the new lender) were so keen to keep this a secret that a company in Luxembourg were employed to create an entirely fictitious company named Anchor Sub Funding. The lender set up a second front company called Progress to try and further muddy the waters. After 3 years of diligent research, SHAC traced both companies back to the Fortress Investment Group, based in New York. It is interesting to note that the Chairman of Fortress is Andrew Baker's next door neighbour!

In early 2009, HLS defaulted on a loan payment to Fortress and were once again teetering on bankruptcy. Unfortunately, Fortress let them off and have even extended the loan to HLS. If they were to call this loan back in, HLS would have very limited options left and hopefully be finished. On top of this, HLS' only other revenue, from operating profit from customers has continued to drop during 2009.

So as we enter 2010, we once again find ourselves armed with the knowledge we need to deliver a finishing blow to HLS, as all that stands between the animals and freedom are Fortress and HLS' top customers (AstraZeneca, Bayer and Novartis).

On behalf of the animals and our fellow activists and friends that have been imprisoned we extend our greatest thanks and respect to everyone who has helped over the last year. This campaign has been a long and hard one, but as long as the closure of HLS is a real possibility it will remain as focused and dedicated as the day it was conceived. There can be no quick fix to demolishing a multi-national company who have rather dubious governmental backing, but a
brief look over the historic and monumental victories of the SHAC campaign show how much can be achieved with commitment and passion. Every action you take could be the one that drives the final nail. With your help and strong belief for positive change for the animals this will continue in 2010.

Lets be the changing force we want to see for the animals...

“Never believe that a few caring people can’t change the world. For,
indeed, that’s all who ever have.” - Margaret Mead

Love and liberation, for total freedom.
SHAC

(Bron: http://www.shac.net/)