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THE Government's decision to honour the boss of a controversial animal research laboratory in the Queen's Jubilee Birthday Honours list has caused uproar. Brian Cass, 54, managing director of Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS), who admits his company kills 75,000 animals a year, was given a CBE for his services to medical research.
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It was not clear who made the recommendation, but No 10 is responsible for putting names forward to the Queen. The honour immediately prompted a wave of anger from politicians and animal activists who branded it 'unduly provocative' and 'disgusting'.
Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrats' Home Affairs spokesman, said: 'I'm very surprised. It's a political statement by the Prime Minister to demonstrate his commitment to science, but it's probably ill-judged and unduly provocative. Tony Blair is right to say we must support science but he must recognise that what's been done at HLS is extremely controversial.'
Greg Avery, from campaign group Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty, said he believed HLS killed about 180,000 animals every year. He said: 'It's disgusting that someone who causes 500 animal deaths every single day should be awarded a CBE. 'It casts a long shadow over people who have been awarded them for good reasons. It's not Tony Blair's voice we hear now but that of the global companies for whom he has become a mouthpiece.'
In the past decade, HLS has become the focus of violent confrontations between workers and animal rights groups. Scientists have faced death threats, hate mail and abusive phone calls, while cars belonging to staff have been set on fire.
Based near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, HLS is Europe's largest contract research laboratory. It conducts experiments on rats, mice, cats, dogs and baboons to test a wide range of material, including medicines and household products.
Last year the Prime Minister denounced animal rights terrorists as 'totally and utterly beyond the pale' and declared his support for HLS. He said: 'People are perfectly entitled to their strong views on animal welfare, but I think it would be deeply regrettable if we lost any part of the scientific endeavour in this country, and certainly that company [HLS] will have our full support in making sure that the actions of these people do not succeed.'
Labour was elected on the promise of improving animal welfare. The Home Office revoked HLS's licence in 1997 after an investigation found instances of cruelty and animals being kept in inappropriate conditions.
Video footage taken inside HLS showed beagles being punched and hurled against a door. But the firm's licence was renewed after it changed practices, sacked offending staff and spentms improving security.
In 2000, there was outrage when it was discovered that Labour's pension fund had 75,000 shares in the animal vivisection firm. Following continued pressure from activists, last October HLS said it would move its headquarters to America.
Cass, who was seriously injured when attacked with baseball bats by a masked gang of activists outside his home last year, said the honour 'was the icing on the cake'. But he added the Government must continue to crack down on campaigners. He said violent campaigns, whose main objective was the demise of a legitimate organisation, should be made illegal; demonstrations at private residential homes should be outlawed; and directors, shareholders and bank lenders' addresses should be protected.
Cass said of his honour: 'This is a very positive statement from the Establishment that most of the people out there understand the true value of animal research and the difference it makes to people's lives in providing new medicines and a healthier environment.'
A Downing Street spokesperson said: ' Cass is head of a company which has been a very successful British company carrying out extremely important work in the face of sustained intimidation from certain quarters.'
Former Conservative Party leader John Major, who used to be MP for the constituency in which the laboratory lies, supported HLS. As a result of his support, HLS made its first political donation ever. It gave £1,500 to the Conservative Party in January. But the party said it did not recommend Cass for an honour.
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