Portland Activists Target Local Animal Torturers

Portland, OR – Day three of World Week for Animals In Labs (WWAIL), organized by local grassroots animal liberation group the Animal Defense League, targeted the Staples Managing Office in Tigard and the Oregon National Primate Research Center in Beaverton.

Activists arrived at the office of the Staples Managing Office prepared for an office protest where they planned to leaflet the different cubicles inside. An hour after recon, the employees had closed up shop, doors locked, and all the lights were off. We were forced to leaflet the rest of the building and the cars outside in hopes of educating neighboring offices of Staples dirt. Staples has been a target of the Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) campaign for nearly three years for their involvement as a supplier to Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS). HLS is a contract testing facility in New Jersey and the UK, known for killing 500 animals every day in the name of “science,” with violations of the Animal Welfare Act well over 100 times in the last 6 years. Staples delivery trucks have been seen making large deliveries to HLS in unmarked vehicles, knowing well what it means to be a target of SHAC and activists concerned with animal cruelty. Please visit: http://www.shac.net/HLS/exposed/inside_hls/Inside_HLS.html

Next, activists headed out to the Oregon National Primate Research Center (ONPRC). The ONPRC is one of eight regionally funded primate research centers in the United States. Located on 250 acres just west of Portland, ONPRC houses over 4,200 non-human primates including macaques, capuchins, and other species used for biomedical and scientific experimentation. With an on-site breeding colony, the Oregon center is the largest supplier of rhesus monkeys for research in the United States. Please visit: http://www.ohsukillsprimates.com/ONPRC.htm

After leafleting all the surrounding neighborhoods, they set up the protest right outside the entrance just in time for lunch hour. There was a tremendous amount of support by cars passing by, and one woman even pulled in to chat. She thought we were protesting the Humane Society and was ok with that for the number of animals they kill, but she was furious when we told her about the ONPRC. With the facility tucked back in a bunch of trees, even neighbors don’t know that there are over 4000 primates suffering at the hands of useless research and faulty science.

The protesters had a lot of fun at this demo. There were mostly sarcastic and humorous interactions with ONPRC employees and cops. Every car that came in and out of the center was made aware of the disdain for primate research. Cars were temporarily blockaded by activists walking in front of the cars, repeatedly dropping and picking up pine cones and other randomness, while activists on the sidewalk made their message known. Two activists utilized their acrobatic skills to climb upon each other to fasten a “Speak Out for Animals In Laboratories” poster to the actual OHSU sign. When they saw deer on the OHSU property, activists encouraged the deer to pick up bolt-cutters.

For Photos, visit: portland.indymedia.org

The Portland Animal Defense League would like to send a special ‘Thank You’ to all the folks who traveled from Seattle and Olympia to help out with the last two days of demos. Please consider joining activities for WWAIL, including leafleting at OHSU on Tuesday, April 20, 2pm.

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If the nonhumans could fight back, their tormentors would have expired long ago. We have an obligation to expose the abusers. It is the LEAST we can do!

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