What was billed as a new protest group's first weekly vigil against Covance happened Sunday at the company's Chandler construction site. The leader was a Peoria teenager.
Diane Lenkowsky, 18, started Action Against Covance on her My Space page in May and said she was inspired by her opposition to animal testing.
Hers is the latest group to carry posters on city streets and voice objections at city council meetings to Covance, a multinational research company that contracts to test drugs, cosmetic ingredients, food additives and pesticides on animals. The company is building one of its largest facilities northwest of Gilbert and Ryan roads. Lenkowsky said she plans to bring her group and their signs there every Sunday at 6:30 p.m.
Other protester groups aren't as active these days.
"We've been kind of quiet lately," said Mike Boerman, a member of Citizens Against Covance. "I needed to take time off."
Boerman said his group, which claims members from across the Valley, is no longer holding regular meetings in a Mesa bookstore and there have been some disagreements among members. But he is still requesting records related to Covance from the city and challenging their disclosures. "Has everyone given up? Absolutely not," Boerman said.
Two years ago Virginia-based People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals weighed in on the issue and flew representatives to the city for protests after Covance announced plans to build in Chandler. However, PETA's name has not been associated with any of the recent protests.
Last month, Washington D.C.-based Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine filed a lawsuit against Chandler seeking to void Covance's zoning and building permit and alleging violations of open meetings, public notice and land use laws.
The City Council continues to receive identically-worded protest e-mails, most from senders outside the United States who refer to Covance's practices in Europe.
Camilla Strongin, spokeswoman for Covance, said, "These groups who can't even claim residency in Chandler offer another glimpse into the anti-mainstream agenda shared by the animal rights groups we have seen of late. They oppose life-saving and life-enhancing research regardless of the benefit." |
