Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC)

Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) was an international animal rights campaign formed in 1998 after the BBC broadcasted a graphic documentary alleging mistreatment of animals by Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS), a British-based research firm. In response, outraged animal rights activists in Britain began to pressure financial institutions associated with HLS to drop their support of the company and thereby force HLS to discontinue using animals in its tests. The campaign borrowed from the ideology and tactics of the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and the Earth Liberation Front (ELF). SHAC quickly become a transatlantic cause among radical animal rights activists, with chapters in Germany, Italy, Portugal and the United States. To date, its activists have claimed responsibility for several bombings and dozens of acts of vandalism and harassment in both the U.S. and Europe.