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Local animal research-related incidents

Staff Writer

1976: New York activist Henry Spira leads weekly picketing at the American Museum of Natural History to protest experiments in which cats are tested for their sexual performance after researchers destroy their sense of smell, remove nerves in their genital regions, or inflict brain damage. Spira's 1½ year-long protest has been cited as one of the early events in shaping the modern animal rights movement.

1986: Under a newly-implemented policy, the National Institutes of Health withholds federal funding for animal research at Columbia University until the university corrects a list of "serious deficiencies" found during a surprise visit. Among them: an insufficient number of qualified professionals in the veterinary care program, non-aseptic animal surgery conditions, and inadequate housing for dogs and sheep, the latter cited as a potential health hazard for the staff.

1988: A Stony Brook University researcher is issued a warning letter by university officials after PETA obtains a copy of a videotape that documents domestic ferrets attacking and killing mice, a rat, and a rabbit -- part of an undergraduate research project to study the predatory habits of ferrets.

1996: Protesters organized by a California-based group, In Defense of Animals, launch weekly pickets at Rockefeller University in Manhattan to protest a research project on equilibrium in cats, during which the brain is severed from the spine. The protesters contend that the cats can still feel pain during the experiment; the university disagrees.

2001: The Animal Liberation Front claims responsibility for stealing 250 ducklings from a Cornell University research facility in Eastport conducting studies on immunology and disease prevention.

2001: Activists calling themselves Pirates for Animal Liberation claim responsibility for drilling holes into the private yacht of a Bank of New York executive in Sands Point to protest the bank's connection to Britain-based Huntingdon Life Sciences, whose East Millstone, N.J.-based laboratory conducts animal-testing research. At least five other incidents targeting individuals or firms tied to Huntingdon are reported in the metropolitan region over the next year.

2001: Activists affiliated with the Earth Liberation Front claim responsibility for vandalizing a Woodbury facility owned by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, during which they spray paint graffiti messages such as "biotech kills." A statement released by the group also refers to genetically-modified corn. Researchers say the facility does not work with genetically-modified food, but is instead primarily devoted to cancer-related research.

2004: Activists affiliated with the group Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty demonstrate at the offices of Manhattan-based Forest Laboratories, Inc. and at the New York City and Long Island homes of several of its top executives to protest the company's ties to Hungtingdon Life Sciences.

SOURCES: Foundation for Biomedical Research, PETA and newspaper accounts