An animal rights activist group, the Animal Liberation Front, has claimed responsibility for the removal of a UCLA vanpool from Riverside.
A full investigation was completed, and UC officials dismissed the the ALF’s claims after no evidence of such incident was found.
Phil Hampton, a spokesman for the university, said in a e-mail that the official investigation has discovered no evidence to support the activist group’s claims.
"All the commuter vans originating in Riverside have been accounted for, and there have been no reports of vandalism or damage made to fleet services or risk management," Hampton said in the e-mail.
In an anonymous statement sent out to the North American Animal Liberation Press Office, the group claimed responsibility for “effectively removing a UCLA vanpool” from its location in Riverside County.
Earlier in the summer, a UCLA vanpool was set on fire. The Animal Liberation Front also claimed responsibility for the fire.
The statement released today references the vanpool fire from June, thanking those responsible.
“Kudos to whoever lit that UCLA van ablaze a couple of weeks ago. Your action inspired us to look into these vans as well. You were right. They are everywhere,” the statement read.
The van’s removal is the latest in a string of property damages and attacks against University of California researchers who conduct testing with animal subjects.
The home of Edythe London, a UCLA professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences and molecular and medical pharmacology at the David Geffen School of Medicine, was attacked for the second time in February when an incendiary device was left in her home.
Other attempted attacks have been made against other researchers in the past as well. An incendiary device which failed to ignite was left next the car of a UCLA ophthalmologist in 2007.
University officials have consistently defended the research being conducted and have condemned the acts.
Hampton said the university’s research is conducted in a fair manner and “is subject to strict federal guidelines and university regulations designed to ensure humane care.”
He added that the research has been partly responsible for many new scientific discoveries and should not be discontinued.
“Discontinuing research would be a disservice to those with conditions such as AIDS, Parkinson’s and cancer,” Hampton said.