Firebombed Researcher Fears Animal-Rights Activists

A university researcher says he fears for his family’s safety after a weekend firebomb attack, the San Jose Mercury News reports. David Feldheim, who does neuroscience research on mice at the University of California Santa Cruz, was slightly injured. He said he expects a continuining threat from animal-rights activists—one of whom called the incident a “necessary” act.

"I don't think the university can do too much to prevent these kind of attacks,” Feldheim told the Santa Cruz Sentinel. A spokesman for the Animal Liberation Front, while denying responsibility, countered: “This guy knows what he is doing. He knows that every day that he goes into the laboratory and hurts animals that it is unreasonable not to expect consequences.” (More animal rights stories.)