I have just been reading that once a week three or so campaigners demonstrate in support of animal rights outside Ciba Vision in Flanders Road, Hedge End. The demonstrators believe that Ciba Vision, which manufactures contact lenses, is buying research from Huntingdon Life Sciences where they use animals in testing procedures.

Dave Thompson is one of the Hedge End protestors and believes that the tests carried out at Huntingdon Life Sciences, ‘are only 20 per cent effective’ and that the company is responsible for the ‘deaths of 500 animals a day’. He would like to see Huntingdon Life Sciences closed down.

On its website Huntingdon Life Sciences states that for medicines, food additives, food packaging, adhesives, clothes dyes, and veterinary products, ‘...government regulatory bodies insist upon stringent and comprehensive safety testing for these products, including testing on animals. Huntingdon Life Sciences provides this essential service...’

The company also insists that they are at the forefront of ‘animal care and welfare‘ practice and ‘respect the needs of the animals’.

The Hedge End campaigners, who have been holding demonstrations here for two years, belong to Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) and have been limited by the courts to two hours protest per week. A police officer attends each demonstration, often an animal rights specialist who is based at Netley.

Ciba Vision has made no comment on the protests but Huntingdon is often targeted by animal rights campaigners.

I’d hate to think of animals suffering but as a mum I need to know that the medicines my children are taking, the food they’re eating and all the products they use in every-day life aren’t harmful. Testing on animals is an emotive subject. Is it a case of animal rights versus human safety, or are there other effective ways of making sure products are safe?