Activists to Disrupt Biotechnology Conference

Animal rights activists from Auckland Animal Action will be present outside of a biotechnology conference today being held at the Sheraton Hotel in Auckland, Sunday, November 17, at 4:00pm.

The 8th Pacific Rim Biotechnology Conference, whose attendees and speakers are animal researchers and genetic engineers from all over the globe, will be starting its registrations today for the conference which will last until Wednesday. Auckland Animal Action will be protesting the conference throughout the week, in opposition to the use of animals for vivisection and genetic engineering.

"The biotechnology industry in New Zealand treat animals as nothing more than machines. " says Michael Wise of Auckland Animal Action. "Groups like AgResearch, and PPL Therapeutics are genetically engineering cows and sheep with the purpose of treating them like bioreactors, never acknowledging the fact that they are exploiting and mutilating these animals for their own gains. Animals have a right to be GE free, and a right to be free of human exploitation. We’re going to make that clear this week."

This is just the tip of the iceberg of animal abuse within the biotechology and the vivisection industries. "The Malaghan Institute in Wellington carries out various animal experiments on genetically engineered animals. In New Zealand on average 250,000 animals are used every year for pointless and misleading experiments. In the year 2000 AgResearch alone used 54,000 animals, which included cows, sheep, and 85 dogs, to name just a few species used." says Wise "These animals have been tortured solely for the sake of profit. AgResearch conducts experiments to increase profits for the agriculture industry. Biomedical research on animals is scientific fraud, with no benefit to humans whatsoever. It is senseless torture, pure and simply."

Protests will be carried out throughout the conference, with various ratings given to each protest. The protest today is rated G, for general. Various other protests have been organised with ratings ranging from PG (parental guidance) to AO (arrestees only). For obvious reasons the rated AO protests will not be publicised before hand.

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