UC Santa Cruz biomedical researcher shares details of attack by activists27-02-2008 J.M. Brown, Sentinel staff writer Santa Cruz Sentinel
SANTA CRUZ - A biomedical researcher who was the target of Sunday's attempted home invasion by masked animal rights activists said Tuesday that she and her young children were terrified, but she will not be deterred from her work to fight breast cancer. "I am flabbergasted that people would target me," said the UC Santa Cruz faculty member, who the Sentinel is not naming because of ongoing security concerns. "All our work we do with animals is regulated. They are treated well."The woman, who said the university has hired security to protect her and her family, has no plans to halt her work with mice. "I'm a scientist, I do research that's really valuable," she said. "One in seven women get breast cancer."
She also said she refused to move from her Westside Santa Cruz home, where police say six masked intruders banged on her door and tried to forcefully enter.
"I'm going to keep on keeping on," she said. "It's my home."
The researcher said one of the assailants struck her husband on the hand with an unknown object after he confronted them on the front porch, but he is OK. She said her two children, 2 and 8, who were home at the time, are "terrified" but OK.
Sunday's attack was the latest in several incidents of vandalism and threats targeting faculty at UCSC's biomedical research labs, where the university says mice, rats, fruit flies, worms and microorganisms are used by scientists to study cancer and other disease - not for testing of cosmetics or drugs. UCSC administrators, who did not make the previous incidents widely known until Monday, said no dogs, cats, birds or other vertebrates are used in research.
The researcher disclosed Tuesday that, during the past several weeks, threatening animal rights messages have been written in chalk on the sidewalk in front of her home and the homes of several colleagues. But she said activists have never confronted her personally before Sunday to discuss her work.
Signs posted on science hill building doors urge users to exercise caution when entering the building where biological research is done. (Bill Lovejoy/Sentinel)
On Feb. 12, UCSC Chancellor Blumenthal sent a message to staff that was posted on the campus Web site saying there had been several recent incidents of intimidation to faculty and staff, "purportedly over laboratory research involving animals. The incident included harassing phone calls and graffiti vandalism at the victims' homes," the message said.
The researcher said she does not know specific details of what happened between the intruders and her husband Sunday because "I was cowering in the back of the house" with the children as he chased the intruders down the street and captured their license plate number.
She said the family was in the front of the home celebrating her daughter's birthday when the intruders began "beating on the porch and the front door." She said the door, secured by two locks, started shaking as she grabbed her children.
"The kids - can you imagine? - I rushed to them," she said. "I was scared [the suspects] were going to enter the house."
She said her husband opened the door and "grappled" with the intruders, and was hit on his hand before chasing them. Neighbors shouted out to him that they were calling 911.
No arrests have been made, but police said Monday they believed three students were involved in the attack. Police would not confirm the motive for the attack.Late Monday, however, Blumenthal issued a statement identifying the victim of Sunday's incident as a biomedical faculty member who uses animals in research.
"Disagreement, debate and dissent on a range of subjects are all hallmarks of a healthy university community. However, an attempted home invasion by masked perpetrators is not free speech - it is a criminal act that threatens, intimidates and stifles academic freedom," the statement said.
Jim Burns, UCSC's spokesman, said Tuesday he could not disclose if any disciplinary actions had been taken against students in connection with the attack. The university is awaiting the outcome of the Santa Cruz Police Department investigation.
"If that investigation reveals suspected criminal wrongdoing by students, they will be subjected to the student disciplinary process," he said.
It is unclear if activists connected to a 16-week tree-sit in the redwoods near the Physical Sciences Building, where some of the biomedical research is conducted, were involved in the vandalism incidents or Sunday's attack. A spokeswoman for the tree-sit demonstration, which has sought to block UCSC's plans to build a new biomedical research facility, did not immediately return a call Tuesday.
Another biomedical researcher at UCSC who also works with mice called Sunday's incident "shocking." "Animal rights people, they have their concerns, but they shouldn't take it to the faculty's home," the colleague said. "There are other ways to express their opinions more peacefully."
No animals rights group has taken responsibility for the weekend attack, though photos of the Riverside Avenue police raid were posted on a activist Web site associated with the Animal Liberation Front and the UCSC tree-sit.Andrea Lindsay, a spokeswoman for the San Francisco-based SHAC 7 animal rights group, said her members, six of whom are in prison for activist activities, had no involvement in Sunday's incident. She said well-known animal rights activist Peter Young gave a talk Saturday night at the Louden Nelson Community Center to raise funds for the legal appeals of SHAC 7 members, but she said she did not know of any connection between the event and the home invasion.
Lindsay said without knowing specifically what activists did Sunday, she did not want to comment on their actions. But, she said in general, "I understand why people are outraged at the use of animals in experiments and why people use a variety of tactics." She said most animal rights activists abide by "a strict code of not injuring people" during their demonstrations.
Young, a Los Gatos native who served two years in a federal prison for releasing thousands of mink from Midwest farms, told the Sentinel Tuesday he had no involvement in Sunday's incident and said no one at his talk indicated they were planning any activity against a UCSC faculty member.But Young, who said he moved to Santa Cruz a month ago after getting off probation, said he was present when police raided the Riverside Avenue home of the three UCSC students. He said he went to the house after hearing from friends Sunday that police were targeting the house of fellow activists, but said didn't know about the earlier home invasion investigation.
While he said he does not know exactly what happened Sunday, he said,
"After being around animal rights activists for many years, I've never encountered anyone who condoned violence against people for the cause of animal liberation."He said the case seemed to be a "P.R. smear campaign by vivisectors to discredit the work of activists. I'm quite sure somebody didn't try to break into the house. We're against violence."
The researcher targeted in Sunday's attack said activists shouldn't be concerned about the ethics of her work because
"the animals don't feel any pain - we treat them humanely," she said. "We don't operate in an underground way. Every procedure we do is done out in the open."
Burns said the university has given many tours of the biomedical labs but declined to allow a Sentinel team in Tuesday, saying the weekend attack "has had a chilling effect on people in those labs."
Stephen Thorsett, dean of Physical and Biological Sciences, the department in which the research labs are based, said Sunday's attack was not necessarily a surprise considering the spate of vandalism and animal rights activities targeting UCLA faculty. He said the physical sciences building, where some of the biomedical labs are located, has been under tight security since an ongoing tree-sit demonstration began in early November.
"Clearly people are concerned about the way this is going," Thorsett said. "We are concerned about the way this is going, that this is the leading edge of increasing activity. But I don't think anyone is fearful. Everyone showed up for work today, as far as I know, and work is going on."
Thorsett said other faculty around campus have contacted his colleagues to offer support.
"If anything, something like this helps pull a community together," Thorsett said. "When you're talking about one of your colleagues with children being invaded provokes a defense response."
Santa Cruz Mayor Ryan Coonerty put the incident on par with attacking the personal residence of a religious leader, abortion provider or any minority group. "This kind of action is deeply concerning," Coonerty said. "It's a terrible thing."
He said it's imperative that people who have information about the incident cooperate with police, adding, "These are not only illegal but immoral actions."
Contact J.M. Brown at 429-2410 or
jbrown@santacruzsentinel.com. Jennifer Squires contributed to this report.
(Bron: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/)(Bron foto: Santa Cruz Sentinel)
De Deurnese brandweer was snel ter plaatse, maar door het isolatiemateriaal van de stal was de brand snel voorbij. De boer had even voor de brand nog niets gemerkt van het aankomende onheil.
.jpg)
