WORLD WEEK FOR ANIMALS IN LABS 2010

In Los Angeles on Thursday April 22nd 2010, STOP ANIMAL EXPLOITATION NOW! Bruins for Animals, In Defense of Animals and local activists staged a "cage sit in" and fake liberation as part of the global WORLD WEEK FOR THE LIBERATION OF ANIMALS IN LABS.

About 50 activists gathered in Westwood to protest the use of live animals in outdated experiments at UCLA. Four activists dressed as a monkey, rabbit, beagle and cat with bloody bandages sat in cages for hours until they were "liberated" by masked activists dressed in black.

Dr. Robert Jones, PhD., Asst. Professor of Philosophy at UC Chico gave a presentation to students at an intimate roundtable on the ethics of animal experiments as well as addressing the protest on his personal experiences working on the animal rights issue at UCLA. Jill Ryther, Attorney and Alumni of UCLA recounted her story of working to end animal experiments during her law studies and the difficulties of organizing a panel discussion with the vivisectors at UCLA.

Since the early 80’s UCLA has been funded by government agencies NIH and NEI to perform questionable experiments on live animals such as methamphetamine and tobacco addiction in non-human primates. Joaquin Fuster has received over $5,000,000.00 to study the stimuli of non-human primates brains. A barbaric experiment which involves restraining non human primates in restraint chairs, drilling into their skulls, inserting electrodes and in order to force them to “reach” for sustenance deprives them of food and water for up to 24 hours. These experiments often result in infections of the brain and are most certainly invasive, painful and unnecessary causing extreme stress and eventual death of the monkey. Virtually identical research funded by taxpayers is being done in other Californian universities as well as hundreds of labs across the states with no benefit to medical advancement.

UCLA faculty has engaged in heavy duty suppression of freedom of speech enacting laws that require permits for protests on public property, harassment of activists, arrests, imprisonment and violations of the freedom of speech act. You can now be cited for wearing a bandana across your face on the UCLA campus in an effort to crack down on activists attending rallies not wanting to be recognized or filmed by law enforcement. One activist was cited attending a protest during the 2008 World Week for Animals in Labs protest for stickering on a bench located on the UCLA campus.

In 2009 Lindy Green, a 62 year old animal rights activist and Kevin Oliff, 22yrs old, were arrested on conspiracy to commit “stalking” after attending neighborhood demonstrations and posting UCLA vivisectors addresses on a website. She has since been charged with stalking and is on five years probation, prohibited from attending any animal rights activities or having contact with any animal rights activists.

UCLA has long held the stance they are engaged in “saving children’s’ lives” doing important research with Cancer and AIDS. These statements are by and large hyperbole and emotional blackmail aimed at an unassuming public. UCLA is neither saving lives or engaged in research for the major diseases affecting millions. They are engaged in the activity of being paid millions of dollars by big pharmaceutical companies to live in multi million dollar homes in areas such as Pacific Palisades, lying to the public, refusing to allow access to public records concerning the experiments and suppression of free speech.