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Animal Liberation Front activists claimed to have broken in to a Marmotech, Inc. testing laboratory in New York and released 150 woodchucks. Bud Tennant, who runs the laboratory, said the number was closer to 30 -- most of the animals remained in or around the facility.
The woodchucks were being used for research into a possible vaccine for |hepatitis B|. A communiqué from ALF claimed, "Tennant is merely satisfying his own curiosity about every minute detail of a specific type of hepatitis found only in woodchucks." Tennant told the Ithaca Times that the woodchuck strain of hepatitis is in the same family as hepatitis B. The experiments on the woodchucks could lead to "development of improved treatment and prevention [of hepatitis B] in humans," Tennant said.
According to |Americans for Medical Progress| more than 300 million people worldwide suffer from hepatitis B, with the disease causing one to two million deaths each year. A drug manufactured by Triangle Pharmaceutical and tested in Tennant’s lab was able to reduce the level of hepatitis virus in the woodchuck’s blood by more than 1,000-fold in only seven days.
Sources:
"CU scientist defends use of animals," Ithaca Journal, July 9, 1998.
"Born Free," Ithaca Times, July 8, 1998.
"ALF releases woodchucks from Cornell lab," Americans for Medical Progress Foundation release, July 6, 1998.