US animal rights activists jailed

TRENTON, N.J.- Three animal rights activists convicted under a US anti-terrorism law have been sentenced to between 48 and 72 months prison for a campaign to drive out of business Huntingdon Life Sciences, a company that tests pharmaceuticals and chemicals on animals.

A federal court judge in Trenton, New Jersey was due to sentence three more people convicted in the case in the coming days.

The members of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty were also found guilty of conspiracy and interstate stalking in their campaign against employees of Huntingdon, a British company that tests pharmaceutical, chemicals and dyes on animals.

The company, which has operations in East Millstone, New Jersey, says on its Web site it uses mice, rabbits, cats, dogs, pigs, sheep, cows, fish, birds and monkeys.

In March a jury found the defendants and their organisation guilty of violating the Animal Enterprise Protection Act, a federal law that was amended in 2002 to equate its offenses with terrorism. It marked the first trial and conviction under that law, federal officials said.

Defence attorneys argued that the defendants were exercising their constitutional rights of free speech and had not themselves committed the acts advocated by their Web site. SHAC said it was the victim of a government crackdown on dissent.

During the three-week trial before US District Judge Anne Thompson, jurors heard that defendants urged sympathizers to harass Huntingdon employees, vandalize their cars and publish the names, addresses and phone numbers of their families on a Web site.

- REUTERS