Britain will introduce tough new measures to protect people from animal rights extremists, the government said Friday (July 30) in a move welcomed by researchers and industry.
Police forces will be given new powers to deal with protests outside peoples' homes, and special prosecutors will be appointed in each police district, Home Office minister Carline Flint said.
"What we are talking about here is an extremist campaign that is attacking people for doing activities which are guided by the law," she told BBC Radio 4.
"We want to get some new legislation on the books," Flint added, stressing that "we're not talking about denying people the right to protest."
Researchers and the pharmaceutical industry have been calling on the government to tackle the escalating levels of intimidation and violence employed by a small minority of extremists—a group increasingly referred to as "animal rights terrorists."
In recent months, the activities of ...
