FBI closely involved in UK animal rights arrests
By Clive Cookson in Boston
Published: May 9 2007 03:00 | Last updated: May 9 2007 03:00
Intensive collaboration be-tween law enforcement agencies on both sides of the Atlantic led to last week's large-scale police action against alleged animal rights extremists in the UK. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation was closely in-volved, as well as European police forces.
Phil Celestini, FBI supervisory special agent, told the Bio conference in Boston that increasingly close transatlantic co-ordination "re-sulted in the arrests we saw last week. And you can bank on there being more [arrests] to come".
The remarks by Mr Celestini, who has led the FBI's activities against animal rights extremism for several years, amplified a statement put out by Joseph Billy, head of the FBI counter-terrorism division. Mr Billy said the arrest in Britain of 32 alleged extremists associated with Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty, an animal rights group, "sends a message that criminal activity is not protected on either side of the ocean". The FBI "has forged strong partnerships with our international law enforcement counterparts. We will share and exchange information with them to target these criminals".
Mr Celestini told a conference session on the globalisation of animal rights extremism that the FBI's drive against extremists in the US was proving increasingly successful. "Since 2005 we have had an unprecedented number of successful investigations, due to the groundwork laid down be-tween 2002 and 2004, and we have started putting a lot of people in jail," he said. The action against extremists gained momentum in Nov-ember, Mr Celestini said, when Congress passed the Animal Enterprises Terrorism Act. This makes it easier for law enforcement agencies to tackle activists' intimidation of secondary and tertiary targets - companies that provide financial and other services to animal research organisations.
But he warned his audience of biotechnology executives that, despite recent successes, the threat of violence and intimidation by activists "is not going to go away. No amount of changes in the law is going to dissuade the true believers".
Frankie Trull, president of the National Association for Biomedical Research, said the focus of activists' attention had begun to switch over the past two years from large pharmaceutical companies to smaller biotechs.
GlaxoSmithKline is the pharmaceutical company that has received most attention from extremists - and campaigned most vociferously against them. Bill Trundley, GSK's UK-based head of corporate security, said his company had experienced 3,000 incidents related to animal rights extremism since 2001, ranging from intimidating leaflets to vandalism and bomb attacks.
Mr Trundley said 2005 was the turning point in the battle against extremists in the UK, when the industry, government and police gave the issue the priority it needed. However, he warned against complacency.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
By Clive Cookson in Boston
Published: May 9 2007 03:00 | Last updated: May 9 2007 03:00
Intensive collaboration be-tween law enforcement agencies on both sides of the Atlantic led to last week's large-scale police action against alleged animal rights extremists in the UK. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation was closely in-volved, as well as European police forces.
Phil Celestini, FBI supervisory special agent, told the Bio conference in Boston that increasingly close transatlantic co-ordination "re-sulted in the arrests we saw last week. And you can bank on there being more [arrests] to come".
The remarks by Mr Celestini, who has led the FBI's activities against animal rights extremism for several years, amplified a statement put out by Joseph Billy, head of the FBI counter-terrorism division. Mr Billy said the arrest in Britain of 32 alleged extremists associated with Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty, an animal rights group, "sends a message that criminal activity is not protected on either side of the ocean". The FBI "has forged strong partnerships with our international law enforcement counterparts. We will share and exchange information with them to target these criminals".
Mr Celestini told a conference session on the globalisation of animal rights extremism that the FBI's drive against extremists in the US was proving increasingly successful. "Since 2005 we have had an unprecedented number of successful investigations, due to the groundwork laid down be-tween 2002 and 2004, and we have started putting a lot of people in jail," he said. The action against extremists gained momentum in Nov-ember, Mr Celestini said, when Congress passed the Animal Enterprises Terrorism Act. This makes it easier for law enforcement agencies to tackle activists' intimidation of secondary and tertiary targets - companies that provide financial and other services to animal research organisations.
But he warned his audience of biotechnology executives that, despite recent successes, the threat of violence and intimidation by activists "is not going to go away. No amount of changes in the law is going to dissuade the true believers".
Frankie Trull, president of the National Association for Biomedical Research, said the focus of activists' attention had begun to switch over the past two years from large pharmaceutical companies to smaller biotechs.
GlaxoSmithKline is the pharmaceutical company that has received most attention from extremists - and campaigned most vociferously against them. Bill Trundley, GSK's UK-based head of corporate security, said his company had experienced 3,000 incidents related to animal rights extremism since 2001, ranging from intimidating leaflets to vandalism and bomb attacks.
Mr Trundley said 2005 was the turning point in the battle against extremists in the UK, when the industry, government and police gave the issue the priority it needed. However, he warned against complacency.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007