UK About to Pass Bill Targeting Animal Rights Extremists....

Headline in the London Times: Extremists are driving drugs firms out of UK'

EVIDENCE that animal rights extremists are driving drug companies out of Britain emerged yesterday, with figures revealing a collapse in investment in new laboratories and the first fall in research spending in the UK for 15 years.

Capital spending in 2003 fell by nearly a fifth to £753 million — the steepest decline in more than a decade. Spending on research fell by £100 million to £3.2 billion — the first fall since records began in 1990, according to the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI).

Fortunately, a bill targeting animal rights extremists is just about to pass through the House of Lords.

The pharmaceutical industry association said that instances of abusive or threatening phone calls from extremists had risen fourfold over the past two years to more than 100, while cases in which campaigners had inflicted damage to personal or company property had almost tripled to 177 between 2002 and 2004.