Jan 11, 2009 10:11 pm US/Pacific
Two UC Davis Researchers Receive Bomb Threats
DAVIS, Calif. (CBS13) ―
Radical animal rights activists have threatened to send letter bombs to two University of California at Davis researchers, according to authorities. The group has reportedly carried out a bombing in the past.
An online posting by a group calling itself the Revolutionary Cells Animal Liberation Brigade identified the two university researchers by name on Saturday night, saying that they had sent them a nasty surprise through the mail.
The threat accuses the two researchers at the California National Primate Research Center of torturing primates.
"It worries me a little bit," said one of the researchers, Edward Schelegle. "I mean, anytime someone threatens you physically I think it causes worry."
Schelegle says his research deals with childhood asthma experiments that can't be done on children, but says the animals are treated as humanely as possible.
"On average, if you look at the colony as a whole, their life span is in excess of what it is in the wild," Schelegle said.
UC Davis security is on high alert. The group that made the threat is the same group that claimed responsibility for bombing an Emeryville building and a failed car bombing attempt on a UCLA professor.
"We've been more concerned about that, and [we're] vigilant and on the lookout for that here," said UC Davis spokesman Andy Fell.
No suspicious packages have been found in either researcher's mailbox, and Schelegle said his mail is being screened at the post office. Other researchers at the Primate Center have been warned to be careful when opening their mail.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
