Animal rights activists protested outside Amgen’s Thousand Oaks headquarters on Aug. 3, demanding the company end animal testing.
At 1:30 p.m., around 20 peaceful protesters from across Southern California carrying signs and megaphones arrived at the biopharmaceutical company’s headquarters. Organizers said the rally comes following nationwide protests over the previous weekend.
An Amgen security guard told the group they were trespassing on private property, but organizers asserted that they were on public streets. The group did not interact with security beyond this.
Over roughly the next hour, protesters played sirens, blew whistles and chanted, “There’s no excuse for animal abuse,” “Amgen has blood on their hands,” and “It’s not science; it’s violence,” among other things.
San Diego resident Pete Raimann of animal rights group True Cost Project poured fake blood on the ground.
Protesters called on Amgen to cut ties with Marshall BioResources, a commercial breeder of lab animals. A news release from Direct Action Everywhere, one of the groups behind the protest, said Marshall’s North Rose, New York facility houses over 40,000 animals, including 16,000 dogs, in “a factory farm for research animals.”
Marshall BioResources did not respond to The Star’s request for comment.
In a statement to The Star, Amgen representative Ali Chartan said that the animal research at the company goes “through rigorous ethical review, conducted with the highest care” and the same policy is applied to third-party organizations working with Amgen.
The statement added that Amgen “is committed to pursuing alternatives to animal research” where possible.
Protest organizers said there is growing support for ending animal testing. In March, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released draft guidance to help drug developers move away from animal testing.
“We’ll be back,” protesters shouted before leaving.
Levi Kauffman is a summer intern for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at lkauffman@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Animal activists rally outside Amgen’s Thousand Oaks headquarters
Reporting by Levi Kauffman, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
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By Levi Kauffman, Ventura County Star | USA TODAY Network
