Vivisection Conf. Forced To Find Another Venue

Tuesday 14th June 2005

Vivisection Conference Forced To Find Another Venue

A conference on vivisection that was to be held at the National Library has been forced to find another venue after animal rights activists threatened protests.

The Australia and New Zealand Council for the Care of Animals in Research and Teaching (ANZCCART) conference, due to open in two weeks, is a gathering of research scientists and members of animal ethics committees. Their conference was to be hosted by the National Library but the library announced today that ANZCCART had canceled the booking.

Animal rights supporters had been sending letters and emails to National Library boss Penny Carnaby over its hosting of the ANZCCART conference, and many library staff were unhappy about the conference. The National Anti-Vivisection Campaign (NAVC) had promised noisy protests throughout the three-day conference, which was due to start on June 26.

NAVC spokesman Mark Eden said he believed ANZCCART had canceled the booking because of fear of protest.

"The National Library didn't really want the hassle and controversy of hosting a vivisection conference, and ANZCCART knew that a lot of library staff opposed the conference and I think they decided that holding the conference there was too risky".

"We believe the ANZCCART conference will still be going ahead at another location in Wellington and we will find them. Animal rights activists from all over the country are still coming to Wellington for the protests and we will find the new venue.

ANZCCART promotes and defends killing animals in useless experiments and wherever they go we will follow them, until they stop torturing animals" said Mr Eden

ENDS

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