"My name is Benjamin Zephaniah. I am a poet and a writer.

For me Huntingdon Life Sciences is an example of how we have not progressed as a society. They think that they are the cutting edge of science. I think exactly the opposite.

In their quest for profit they have lost all humanity, compassion and caring. Scientifically they have not done much and to me the place represents evil, the opposite of progress.

When I have shown friends the video of Huntingdon workers hitting dogs in the face and killing them they can not believe what is going on in the place. “Why?” is what they all ask.

I think people should do whatever they can to stop HLS, whatever they have the time to do as long as it is something. HLS will be closed by whatever means necessary be it by people writing letters or by people taking direct action.

When you try to reason with these people, when you sit down and say to them ‘Look – what you’re doing is wrong, when you hit an animal that animal has feelings. Look – I have family, I want progress, I want medicine, I want my gran to be OK.’ And when they still do not listen then they have to accept whatever action people take.

Vivisection to me is like a form of slavery, but worse than slavery as the vivisectors have the animals in slavery and they inflict torture upon them in a systematic way.

I can fully understand why people made into slaves did whatever it took to free themselves. They fought and fought and fought until they had freedom.

HLS call the shots; it is up to them when they stop doing what makes people so angry."