The U.S. House of Representatives approved new legislation Monday that would make it a crime to harass or threaten animal researchers and their families. The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act was approved by the Senate in September.
Supporters of the bill hope it will prevent such activities, such as an incident in which extremists attempted to bomb a researcher's home at the University of California at Los Angeles. The Animal Liberation Front, an animal-rights activist group, took credit for the attempt.
David Hudson, University associate vice president for research and graduate studies, emphasized the importance of animal research as a tool in experiments seeking to improve both human and animal health.
"People certainly have the right to protest," Hudson said. "But practices that intimidate researchers or inhibit ongoing research might be more of a problem."
Hudson said there are a number of programs at the University, both inside and outside the Medical School, that utilize animal research.
"We have encountered some animal rights activities here on Grounds," Hudson said. "And we've tried to be responsive to them and consider the animal rights viewpoint."
UCLA Acting Chancellor Normal Abrams similarly emphasized in a public statement the importance of a safe environment for animal researchers.
In the statement, Abrams said he was "delighted" to report Congressional approval of the AETA.
"UCLA of course encourages free speech, but violence and intimidation is not protected by the First Amendment," Abrams said. "We strongly believe that animal research is vital to the quest to advance knowledge and to prevent or cure many diseases, thereby improving human health and quality of life."
Animal rights advocates, however, are not so pleased with the new legislation.
The North American Animal Liberation Press Office is a group that gives a media voice to underground animal rights activist groups such as the ALF.
NAALPO spokesperson Camille Hankins said she doesn't expect the legislation to have much effect on groups such as the ALF and other such organizations.
"These people are already breaking the law," she said. "People in the underground already do illegal activities, so for them nothing has changed. There will probably actually be an increase in illegal activity, because the government has made it so hard to be an above-ground activist."
President Bush is expected to sign the bill into law.
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