ANTI-VIVISECTION activists have set up camp close to the entrance to Highgate Rabbit Farm at Normanby by Spital, protesting against the farm's programme of breeding rabbits and ferrets for the vivisection industry, including Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS)
Around half a dozen protesters arrived at about 8.30am this morning and set up tents and banners about 100 yards away from the main entrance.

Nineteen year old leader Chris witheld his surname but reassured everyone the demonstration was '110 per cent peaceful'.

"This is the lawful side of the animal rights movement," he said. "We are here to peacefully protest and are trying to keep it non-confrontational.

"We're here just to be here, to act as a gentle reminder to the farmer that it's an unacceptable way to make a living and to let local people know we're here."

Chris, who is from the West Country, is a full time activist on animal and human rights and environmental issues and said that although this protest had been organised by him, he was working in conjunction with the Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) campaign.

Other activists have joined the camp during the day but Chris said he did not expect there would be more than a dozen or so as people came and went. He expected the camp to last until Friday.

One of those who came later was Ally from Spilsby, who said she had been involved in animal rights issues for many years.

"As this was local we decided to come," she said.

The demonstration is seen as a precursor to a large national demonstration organised by SHAC planned outside Highgate Farm on September 26, when around 500 demonstrators are expected to attend.

* Huntingdon Life Sciences is an animal-testing company founded in 1952 in England, but now with branches in America and Japan. It is the largest such commercial organisation in Europe and employs about 1,700 people, conducting tests on around 75,000 animals a year, testing pharmaceutical products, agricultural chemicals, industrial chemicals and foodstuffs on behalf of private clients worldwide.

To view the SHAC website, click here.

To view Huntingdon Life Sciences website, click here