Save the Hill Grove Cats
Encyclopedia
Save the Hill Grove Cats was a British animal rights
campaign set up in 1997 with the aim of closing Hill Grove Farm near Witney
in Oxfordshire
. The farm, owned by Christopher Brown, was the last commercial breeder of cats for laboratories in the United Kingdom. Eight hundred cats were removed by the RSPCA on August 10, 1999, when Brown announced his decision to retire after a controversial two-year campaign.
At least 350 people were arrested and 21 jailed for public order offences over the course of the campaign. Policing costs rose to £2.8m and a five-mile exclusion zone was put in place around the farm.
The closure of the farm was regarded as highly significant in the UK, as an example of what is viewed — both by animal rights activists and by the British government — as the increasing influence and determination of the animal rights movement. The same group of activists chose as its next target Huntingdon Life Sciences
, a contract animal-testing company in Cambridge, England, and New Jersey in the U.S., forming Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty
, a campaign that has since become international.
The campaign was controversial, and included acts and threats of violence against Christopher Brown. In 1993, he suffered burns to his face and stomach when a letter bomb exploded. In 1998, he was set a hoax bomb by the "Provisional ALF," together with a warning that a real one would follow. The threats were condemned by the Save the Hill Grove Cats campaign. A spokesperson, Heather James, told reporters: "We can't condone this. We are against violence towards animals and people."
In December 1998, Christopher Brown was added to a list of people involved in animal testing
who would be assassinated by the Animal Rights Militia
if Barry Horne
, an animal rights activist on hunger strike, should die.
There were also allegations of violence against the activists. Protesters alleged that farm workers had poisoned them with an organophosphate
pesticide
spray. Environmental health officers confirmed that they found "substantial amounts" of dimethoate
, described by the Independent as a potentially lethal pesticide, on a roadside verge where protesters often stood. Sixteen activists complained of nausea, sore throats, headaches, and difficulty breathing. Christopher Brown said that he had not sprayed the verge and that his farm did not use dimethoate.
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
campaign set up in 1997 with the aim of closing Hill Grove Farm near Witney
Witney
Witney is a town on the River Windrush, west of Oxford in Oxfordshire, England.The place-name 'Witney' is first attested in a Saxon charter of 969 as 'Wyttannige'; it appears as 'Witenie' in the Domesday Book of 1086. The name means 'Witta's island'....
in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
. The farm, owned by Christopher Brown, was the last commercial breeder of cats for laboratories in the United Kingdom. Eight hundred cats were removed by the RSPCA on August 10, 1999, when Brown announced his decision to retire after a controversial two-year campaign.
Background
Hill Grove was one of 3,326 designated establishments for breeding and animal experimentation in the UK; 1,124 cats were used in experiments in the UK in 1998.At least 350 people were arrested and 21 jailed for public order offences over the course of the campaign. Policing costs rose to £2.8m and a five-mile exclusion zone was put in place around the farm.
The closure of the farm was regarded as highly significant in the UK, as an example of what is viewed — both by animal rights activists and by the British government — as the increasing influence and determination of the animal rights movement. The same group of activists chose as its next target Huntingdon Life Sciences
Huntingdon Life Sciences
Huntingdon Life Sciences is a contract animal-testing company founded in 1952 in England, with facilities in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire; Eye, Suffolk; New Jersey in the U.S., and Japan...
, a contract animal-testing company in Cambridge, England, and New Jersey in the U.S., forming Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty
Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty
Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty is an international animal rights campaign to close down Huntingdon Life Sciences , Europe's largest contract animal-testing laboratory. HLS tests medical and non-medical substances on around 75,000 animals every year, from rats to primates...
, a campaign that has since become international.
Controversy
In December 1998, Christopher Brown was added to a list of people involved in animal testing
Animal testing
Animal testing, also known as animal experimentation, animal research, and in vivo testing, is the use of non-human animals in experiments. Worldwide it is estimated that the number of vertebrate animals—from zebrafish to non-human primates—ranges from the tens of millions to more than 100 million...
who would be assassinated by the Animal Rights Militia
Animal Rights Militia
The Animal Rights Militia is a banner used by animal rights activists who engage in direct action that ignores the Animal Liberation Front's policy of taking all necessary precautions to avoid harm to human and non-human life.-History:...
if Barry Horne
Barry Horne
Barry Horne was an English animal rights activist. He became known around the world in December 1998, when he engaged in a 68-day hunger strike in an effort to persuade the British government to hold a public inquiry into animal testing, something the Labour Party had said it would do before it...
, an animal rights activist on hunger strike, should die.
There were also allegations of violence against the activists. Protesters alleged that farm workers had poisoned them with an organophosphate
Organophosphate
An organophosphate is the general name for esters of phosphoric acid. Phosphates are probably the most pervasive organophosphorus compounds. Many of the most important biochemicals are organophosphates, including DNA and RNA as well as many cofactors that are essential for life...
pesticide
Pesticide
Pesticides are substances or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest.A pesticide may be a chemical unicycle, biological agent , antimicrobial, disinfectant or device used against any pest...
spray. Environmental health officers confirmed that they found "substantial amounts" of dimethoate
Dimethoate
Dimethoate is a widely used organophosphate insecticide used to kill insects on contact. It was patented and introduced in the 1950s by American Cyanamid. Like other organophosphates, dimethoate is an anticholinesterase which disables cholinesterase, an enzyme essential for central nervous system...
, described by the Independent as a potentially lethal pesticide, on a roadside verge where protesters often stood. Sixteen activists complained of nausea, sore throats, headaches, and difficulty breathing. Christopher Brown said that he had not sprayed the verge and that his farm did not use dimethoate.
See also
- Consort beaglesConsort beaglesThe Consort beagles campaign was founded in 1996 by British animal rights activists Greg Avery and Heather James, with a view to closing Consort Kennels in Hereford, a commercial breeder of beagles for animal testing laboratories.-Background:...
- Stop Huntingdon Animal CrueltyStop Huntingdon Animal CrueltyStop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty is an international animal rights campaign to close down Huntingdon Life Sciences , Europe's largest contract animal-testing laboratory. HLS tests medical and non-medical substances on around 75,000 animals every year, from rats to primates...
(SHAC) - Save the Newchurch Guinea PigsSave the Newchurch Guinea PigsSave the Newchurch Guinea Pigs was a six-year campaign by British animal rights activists to close a farm in Newchurch, Staffordshire that bred guinea pigs for animal research...
- Shamrock FarmShamrock FarmShamrock Farm was Britain's only non-human primate importation and quarantine centre, located in Small Dole, near Brighton in West Sussex. The centre, owned by Bausch and Lomb, and run by Charles River Laboratories, Inc...
- Leaderless resistanceLeaderless resistanceLeaderless resistance, or phantom cell structure, is a political resistance strategy in which small, independent groups , including individuals , challenge an established adversary such as a government. Leaderless resistance can encompass anything from non-violent disruption and civil disobedience...
Further reading
- Hill Grove Cats
- "Save The Hill Grove Cats Campaign", 6-minute video on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
.