Animal rights group guilty

A JURY in the United States yesterday found an animal rights group which has a base in Britain and six of its members guilty of inciting violence and terror.

The group, Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty, which has a branch in Worcestershire, maintained its actions constituted free speech protected by the US Constitution.

But the six members and SHAC were found guilty of animal enterprise terrorism, which carries a sentence of up to three years in jail and a $250,000 (143,000) fine.

The government claimed SHAC used its website to incite violence against people and institutions it claimed were affiliated with Huntingdon Life Sciences, which uses animals to test drugs and consumer products .