Date
December 15, 2000
Contact
Barbara Stagno
IDA
914-693-6559
In Defense of Animals
131 Camino Alto
Mill Valley
CA 94941
IDA is an international, California-based animal advocacy organization dedicated to ending the abuse and exploitation of animals by defending their rights, welfare and habitats.
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HSBC Drops Holdings in Controversial Animal Lab
MILL VALLEY, Calif. - British animal rights campaigners working with the U.K. organization Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) have forced the world's second largest bank, HSBC, to drop its investment in Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS), a controversial animal laboratory with a proven track record of outrageous animal abuse.
The news of the bank's withdrawal was reported to In Defense of Animals (IDA) after SHAC received a letter from HSBC's Head of Group Corporate Relations affirming that the bank no longer has any ties to HLS. Earlier this year, IDA joined forces with SHAC in an international effort to close this shameful corporation which maintains an active lab in East Millstone, N.J.
The attention brought on HLS by animal rights activists in Great Britain and the U.S. has had major effects on HLS's stock price. HLS investors have seen share prices plummet from about $30 in 1997, to $15 at the start of 2000. Over the past year, HLS stock has taken a steep dive, with its current value hovering at about $0.85 on the NY Stock Exchange.
"HSBC's decision is another severe blow to HLS, which is reeling from its financial losses," said Barbara Stagno of IDA. "One would think that in light of its scandalous reputation, HLS would feel a need to clean up its act. But with shocking documentation continuing to emerge from this lab, such is not the case. It's no wonder that its investors just want to take their money and run."
The crush of pressure from animal rights supporters has also been felt outside of the U.S. and Great Britain. Just last month, one of Canada's biggest mutual funds, Trimark, dumped almost half its holding in HLS.
HLS carries out toxicity tests, forcing animals to ingest, inhale and consume all manner of caustic compounds from weed killers to pharmaceuticals. Undercover video footage has caught HLS workers hurling monkeys into their cages and laughing as they force chemicals down tubes into their noses and stomachs. In September 2000, documents revealed that hundreds of animals had been made to suffer in botched cross-species transplant experiments that were fraudulently reported as having been a success.
For further information on the international effort to close HLS, visit IDA's Vivisection Information web site.