The Des Moines Register reports that Seashore Hall and Spence Laboratories at the University of Iowa have been closed until at least after the Thanksgiving holiday due to extensive vandalism that appears to be the work of animal rights extremists.
The vandalism mainly occurred on a locked floor that housed animal research facilities used by the behavioral and cognitive neuroscience division of the university’s psychology department.
According to the Register,
The intruders took an unspecified number of mice, rats and other animals, damaged more than 30 computers, dumped hazardous chemicals and caused “tens of thousands of dollars” in damage, according to U[niversity] of I[owa] police.
It has been widely reported that “ALF” was spray painted inside the laboratory, but neither police nor the FBI have confirmed that.
Even if animal rights activists were responsible, don’t be surprised if the ALF leaves this particular action unclaimed since those responsible apparently ended up killing a number of animals in the laboratory. The Des Moines Register quoted professor and researcher Mark Blumberg as saying,
What they did to the animals was worse than what they could accuse us of doing. There were animals that drowned because of this. It was horrible. How they think that they’re doing something that is for the benefit of animal rights is beyond me.
Source:
Vandalism closes animal labs at U of I. Jeffrey Patch, Des Moines Register, November 16, 2004.