A federal jury yesterday (March 2) convicted an animal rights group and six of its members of inciting violence and terror against Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS), a contract research organization in the U.S. and U.K. that conducts animal testing for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.
"This is a solid first step," said Jacquie Calnan, president of Americans for Medical Progress (AMP), a nonprofit advocacy group that supports the humane use of animals in medicine. "It sends a signal that law enforcement and the federal government are taking these threats seriously," she told The Scientist.
After deliberating for about 14 hours over three days, a federal jury in Trenton, NJ, found Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty USA Inc. (SHAC-USA) and six of its members guilty of various charges of animal enterprise terrorism, conspiracy, interstate stalking, and other crimes. Each of the charges carries penalties of three to five years in prison and up ...
