Militant Forces Against Huntingdon Life Sciences

The Militant Forces Against Huntingdon Life Sciences (MFAH), also referred to as Militant Forces Against HLS, is a name used by animal liberationists who carry out militant direct action in an attempt to close down Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS), a contract animal testing laboratory founded in England, UK. MFAH were first heard of when they claimed responsibility for vandalising properties of Bayer and Novartis staff in Germany, along with Animal Liberation Front (ALF) activists in 2009. Since then groups have reported over 20 actions from France, Belgium, Germany and most notably in Switzerland, Austria and the UK, such as painting houses, burning vehicles and grave desecration.
The MFAH is not described as a group, but as a banner for autonomous, covert cells who carry out direct action, including political violence, as part of a campaign of leaderless resistance. Similar to other militant groups such as the Animal Liberation Brigade and Justice Department, activists oppose ALF ideology, instead believing in any necessary action to prevent alleged suffering at HLS, including physical harm.
Mission Statement
Released on May 27th 2009, after their 6th attack and little explained about the group, MFAH stated their intentions:
Huntingdon Life Sciences
Huntingdon Life Sciences is a contract animal-testing company founded in England, with facilities in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire; Eye, Suffolk; New Jersey in the U.S., and Japan. HLS conducts tests on around 75,000 animals every year—including rats, rabbits, pigs, dogs, and primates—testing pharmaceutical products, agricultural chemicals, industrial chemicals, and foodstuffs on behalf of private clients worldwide. With over 1,600 staff, it is the largest such commercial operation in Europe.
Huntingdon has been campaigned against since 1999, when British animal rights activists set up Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC), an international campaign to close the company down. The campaign was started after film shot secretly inside the company by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), and later shown on British television, showed staff punching and laughing at the animals in their care. Since then the company has suffered a severe financial downturn and several of its staff and customers have been subject to direct action that has sometimes been illegal and even violent.
Actions
Background
The militants were first heard of in Germany in April 2009, when along with the ALF, they claimed to Bite Back Magazine they had vandalised properties of six Bayer staff and a Novartis director, both accused of being HLS clients. The following month actions were reported by MFAH against; Sandoz and Sanofi in Germany, NYSE Euronext by MFAH France (at the time HLS' stock brockers), a private sports facility for Novartis workers in France, the property of Schering Plough's Director in Belgium and a Novartis Director in Germany. A month later, in France, they reported that Pfizer CEO recieved a spraypainted house and sidewalk.
Novartis CEO
On the evening of August 2nd 2009, MFAH Austria then set fire to Novartis swiss Chairman and CEO Daniel Vasella's hunting lodge in Bach. The militants claimed they had used 60 litres of petrol were placed strategically around the house, with 100 firefighters drawn in to tackle the blaze and MFAH threatening more attacks if Novartis did not severe ties with HLS. Nearly 3 weeks later, MFAH took responsibility for vandalising the family graves of Daniel Vasella in July and removing an urn. The gravestones were spraypaintd with an anti-HLS slogan and two wooden crosses, featuring the names of Dr Vasella and his wife, were stuck in the ground. Slogans were also previously graffitied on Dr Vasella's church in the home village of Risch. Novartis admitted that there had been an escalation in these types of attacks, with SHAC denying involvement in the case.
Highgate Farm
After ALF volunteers raided Highgate Farm in January 2008, removing 129 rabbits and vandalising vehicles, hundreds of activists have protested outside the farm since. In July 2010, MFAH activists burned a Mercedes Sprinter van left at the farm, competely destroying the vehicle. The farm, near Market Rasen, Licolnshire, supplies rabbits to Huntingdon Life Sciences' Cambridgeshire laboratory, and is a primary focus of the SHAC campaign.
Others
In other posts, although largely not reported by the media, militants have claimed targeting HLS' customers and financers in the UK, in three seperate incidents in 2010 vandalising cars belonging to Nomura Directors and an arson against AstraZeneca in France. In Germany M.F.A.H. Deutschland claimed placing incendiary devices under the then Vice President of Fortress in January 2010, who reportedly resigned shortly after.

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