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June 11, 2008

Despicable animal rights demonstrators

Thomas Lifson
Self righteousness can be a disease afflicting the true believers in any cause. But the animal rights movement seems to be home to more than its share of people who believe their cause is so right that they are excused from normal human constraints. They have no more consideration of others than the beasts they whose interests they place above humanity's.

More than two decades ago, a childhood friend who grew up to become a world-renowned medical researcher, whose work has improved the lives of countless people suffering a horrible affliction (and who has had the extraordinary honor among medical researchers of having a medical syndrome named after him), told me of the trauma he and his family (including young children back then) suffered when animal rights protestors showed up at his house one weekend with bullhorns and signs making horrid allegations about his alleged cruelty to animals. In his efforts to prevent human suffering, he experimented on animals, you see.

His children were initially frightened by the demonstrators. But even worse, they were presented with a picture of their father as an evil man who hurt cuddly small animals, as if for fun.

This demented form of protest is back, and it is taking place all around me, according to this report  from Matier & Ross of the San Francisco Chronicle.


Officials have been trying to keep it quiet, but 24 UC Berkeley researchers and seven staffers have been harassed by animal rights activists in recent months, in some cases having their homes or cars vandalized.

"What they all have in common is that they all work in animal research," UC Berkeley spokesman Robert Sanders said of the targeted employees.

In several instances, the activists have shown up outside researchers' homes in the middle of the night with bullhorns and chanting, "Animal killers." Sometimes they have scrawled slogans on the sidewalk in chalk.

On more than one occasion, rocks have been thrown through the researchers' windows and their cars have been scratched up.

"Sometimes (the activists) go up to the door," Sanders said, "which can be very frightening to the family."

According to UC, there have been 20 reports of damage to researchers' homes in Berkeley, Oakland and El Cerrito since August, including seven broken house windows and three vandalized cars.

Thirteen researchers have been harassed on more than one occasion, authorities said. One researcher, who studies how cat brains work for epilepsy research, has reported seven incidents at his home.

No specific group has been identified as being behind the harassment.

These people are as inhuman as the animals they pose as champions of.

Posted at 11:04 AM | Email | | | Share Share
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