The high cost of protecting animal research facilities against acts of "terrorism" from extremist protestors could have a knock-on effect on research budgets, a leading scientific body has warned.
The Royal Society, Britain's national academy of science, fears budgets could be squeezed and researchers deterred from a career in animal research because of fears for their own safety, if action is not taken.
The Royal Society announced on Wednesday (June 16) that it has written to leading universities across the United Kingdom requesting details on how much they are spending to protect their facilities and researchers against attack. The letter was sent at the end of May to around 120 universities, who have until June 21 to respond.
In a press statement, it said: "The Society believes that substantial sums of money are being spent across the UK to protect academic animal research facilities from animal rights extremists."
"Currently, there...
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