Published Date: 08 October 2008

ANIMAL rights activists accused of a campaign of blackmail against companies that supplied Huntingdon Life Sciences were part of a well-organised worldwide organisation which supported intimidation, a court heard.
The hierarchy of the group, called Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC), met every three months to discuss their campaign, with regular updates from colleagues in the US and Europe, Winchester Crown Court was told.

The five on trial – Trevor Holm (51), Gerrah Selby (20), Daniel Wadham (21), Gavin Medd-Hall (45) and Heather Nicholson (41) – are alleged to have used threats such as claiming managers of the companies were paedophiles, hoax bombs parcels, criminal damage and threatening telephone calls to force the firms to cut links with the animal testing company.

The aim was to target suppliers or any company with a secondary link with Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS).

All deny conspiracy to blackmail from 2001 until 2007.

Three others members – Gregg Avery, Natasha Avery and Daniel Amos – pleaded guilty to conspiracy to blackmail.

Michael Bowes, prosecuting, said police bugged the headquarters of SHAC at Little Moorcote, near Hook, in Hampshire, and captured audio tape of a meeting on April 8 last year that some of the defendants attended.

From the conversations and from e-mails and deleted spreadsheets that were uncovered, Mr Bowes told the jury it was possible to show the "graphic picture of the true nature and dark nature of SHAC activists".

He said the information showed SHAC supported what was euphemistically described as "direct action" by animal rights extremists against people and firms who had links with HLS.

He said these direct actions were illegal actions and they could be traced though e-mails and spreadsheets to actual attacks on people across Britain.

He told the court that SHAC was in communication with United States activists who had demonstrated outside the New York Stock Exchange.

The jury was shown recovered electronic data revealing dates and information about direct action in the UK that included hoax bombs and sending letters to neighbours of the targets saying the person was a paedophile.

Victims were wide-ranging and included scientists, managing directors and even a personal assistant, the jury heard.

Last Updated: 08 October 2008 10:27 AM
Source: Peterborough ET
Location: Peterborough


'Worldwide links' to anti-HLS activists - Peterborough Today