Los Angeles-based extremists who oppose the use of animals in scientific research destroyed a car, which they thought belonged to a University of California, Los Angeles, biologist Goran Lacan.

The arson attack, which occurred on November 20th, also badly damaged two nearby cars, but none of the cars belonged to Lacan, according to Los Angeles police.

Apparently, an LAPD spokesperson told the Los Angeles Times, the arsonists got Lacan's address wrong and torched a neighbor's car. Animal rights group Students and Workers for the Liberation of UCLA Primates claimed responsibility for the attack on its website, stating that activists "placed an incendiary device beneath an automobile belonging to primate vivisector Goran Lacan," adding that the home that was attacked indeed belonged to Lacan.

According to UCLA's website, Lacan studied "treatments and cures for morbid obesity and other eating disorders" in non-human primates four years ago. UCLA chancellor Gene Block condemned the attack, saying in a statement, "Through these reprehensible tactics and reckless behavior, anti-animal research extremists demonstrate repeatedly that they are willing not only to risk the lives of those who spend their careers working to help others but also the lives of the unsuspecting general public, including children."

California has become a hotbed for extreme animal rights activism, with recent attacks on UC Santa Cruz and UCLA researchers. The state recently passed a law aimed at protecting scientists who use animals in their research.

Related stories:

• The War on Animal Research [April 2008]
• UCSC animal researcher targeted [26th February 2008]
• Animal rights group targets neuroscientist [31st October 2007]
• Calif. bill to protect researchers [15th August 2008]