Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty
Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) is a trans-continental animal rights group the sole purpose of which is to close down the contract animal testing laboratory Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS), which they accuse of animal cruelty. Founded in 1999 by Greg Avery, Heather James, and Natasha Dellemagne, it works as a leaderless direct action grassroots movement with branches in both the United Kingdom and the United States. Although there are several animal rights groups opposing the HLS, the SHAC is described by The Economist as "the most visible and effective groups hunting the firm".[1]
Although widely supported by animal rights advocates, it is a controversial organization due to the methods it employs to close down the said laboratory (such as hoax bombs parcels, threatening telephone calls, describing managers of the companies as they oppose as paedophiles etc.),[2] and it is considered a domestic terrorist threat by the FBI.