The Oxford Student quoted an unidentified Animal Liberation Front source as saying that in the wake of the failure of a new Cambridge-affiliated primate laboratory, that activists would likely turn to targeting a new animal facility that Oxford University is currently building.
The Oxford Student reported that the unnamed ALF source told it,
. . . new animal facilities proposed at Oxford would be seen as a legitimate target for ALF members. [Possible actions could] range from smashing windows with rocks to arson attacks against entire departments.
The Oxford Student also quoted National Anti-Vivisection Society campaigns director Tim Phillips as saying,
Oxford is practically the UK’s capital [sic] of animal suffering. We’ve placed people undercover in some of these laboratories and found appalling instances of animal suffering — animals being dropped on the floor, technicians laughing as they smash animals to death against benchtops, and gross overcrowding.
An Oxford spokesperson told the Oxford Student,
We have had protests in the past, and we’ve dealt with them. We are confident we can do the same again. We’re not extending our research — we are simply building a new facility for housing animals.
Source:
Capital of Suffering. Ella Davies, Oxford Student, February 12, 2004.