| Chiswick Animal Rights Activist In Court | |||
Accused of participating in blackmail campaign against laboratory suppliers
A Chiswick has appeared in court accused of being part of a blackmail campaign against a firm suspected of supplying an animal testing laboratory. 20 year old Gerrah Selby is currently on trial in Winchester suspected of being part of a group called Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC). He is one of five defendants accused of causing criminal damage, making threats and sending hoax bombs, to firms that have links with Huntingdon Life Sciences which conducts animal testing for the pharmaceutical industry. All five, whose ages range from 20 to 51, deny conspiracy to blackmail. The court heard how SHAC initiated "menacing" campaigns against firms named their website. The firms were told that the blackmail would only stop when they made a public statement on the SHAC website pledging that they would no longer supply Huntingdon Life Sciences. A number of hand-written notes were shown as evidence. One read, “Your days are numbered animal abuser. Time running out." The trial continues.
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