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The majority of work that HLS handles is the animal testing for medical drug approval and cosmetics in the UK and the US. Extensive video footage has been filmed inside HLS showing severe offences against animal protection laws. Evidence shows that this abuse has been systematic over a long period and that staff are not trained properly and are often ignoring Home Office guidelines on how to treat the animals.
In 1999, members of the Animal Liberation Front worldwide began a campaign against HLS called Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty. This campaign is still active as of 2004 and involves direct action and demonstrations. It targets not only HLS directly, but in addition any company or institution holding business relations with the laboratory, be it clients, suppliers or disposal and cleaning services, thus trying to scare away HLS' business partners. Animal rights adversaries say that targeting of the company is mostly due to the political propaganda effects of a successful campaign against it. They claim that closure of the largest lab in the UK would show that violence and destruction is a resoundingly successful methodology for animal rights supporters.
Animal rights supporters allege HLS has connections with the Chiron corporation. Animal rights supporters have been served with a High Court injunction [1] preventing them from harrassing Chiron's UK staff in or around their homes.