Sunday, November 25, 2007

WAR Targets HLS Customers Novartis and Bristol-Myers Squibb and Furrier Dennis Basso

Demo #1: Dorothy Watson – General Counsel – Novartis

Since most of the major NY institutional investors in LSR divested of their holdings, activists are turning their attention back to the customers of Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS). A protest was held at the luxury hi-rise apartment building of Dorothy Watson, General Counsel of Novartis, a prime HLS customer. This is a very well trafficked location with retail outlets, street vendors and pedestrians everywhere.

Activists unfurled their large gruesome banner and held graphic posters depicting the tortured mutilated animals who were killed at HLS. Many passersby stopped to talk to activists and to read the flyers they were handed. One young man felt empowered to join the demonstration and to lend his strong voice to the activist’s cadences. “Innocent animals are under attack, what do we do?”…..queried one loud voice……the rest responded “Act Up, Fight Back”.

Although most of the pedestrians that stopped to chat with the protesters, one person (it seems there is one in every crowd) was enraged at the fact that the demonstration was taking place at a pharmaceutical executives home rather than her office. He was so enraged that he charged up and down the protest line screaming in activists faces, calling them “dog humans” (he thought this was an insult, activists regarded it as a compliment and told him so), and even attacked people passing by with his unrestrained anger. After a bit, it was clear that this gentleman was a few chips short of a full bag (crazy), and becoming increasingly violent, so police were called to intervene. Of note is the fact that people who had gathered at the protest site all defended activists and even thanked them for calling the police.

Demo #2: Dennis Basso Fur Scum Home Demo

Next up was the home of “Furrier to the Stars” (second rate stars and has-beens), Dennis Basso. Basso did not appear to be at home as his windows were not foggy and steamed up like they usually are when he is at home (Dennis lives on the ground floor corner unit at Central Park West and W. 82nd Street and often answers his doorbell glistening with sweat and huffing and puffing audibly). So, activists moved the protest to the front of Basso’s building to take advantage of the Central Park West and Museum of Natural History Sunday traffic.

Flyers were given to anyone who passed the demo as protesters chanted in unison…..”50 dead animals, one fur coat” and “Stop the torture, stop the death….free the animals, A-L-F”. As usual, the doormen, who are very difficult to understand, harassed and tried to intimidate activists with threats like…..”If you don’t go away, I will give you F*ck”. It was hard not to laugh.

Central Park strollers offered many thumbs up in support of the demonstrators and many promised to boycott QVC where Basso pushes his products. Whether at his store or at his home, activists closed their protest with their trademark promise: “We’ll be back!”

Demo #3: Lamberto Andreotti – President, Worldwide Pharmaceuticals – Bristol-Myers Squibb

Last stop of the evening was the posh and exclusive address of Lamberto Andreotti, a high-ranking executive with Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS). Andreotti never seems to be at home, but his neighbors always seem anxious to come down and talk to the protesters.

One woman approached with a disturbed look on her face. She asked why activists had chosen a building that was full of animal lovers, many of which are animal advocates and support animal rights. The answer was: “That is exactly why we are here. We thought you would want to know that you have a puppy killer living in your building”.

After chatting with activists and hearing about Huntingdon Life Sciences, what they do, the undercover investigations that show beagle puppies being punched in the face and monkeys being cut open alive, she learned that BMS pays HLS to conduct product testing. She was horrified and left with a promise to bring this matter to the attention of the building condo board.