PROTESTS have taken place at Porton Down and in the city centre to mark World Day for Animals in Laboratories.
This day has taken place each year on April 24 since 1979, and these protests replaced the traditional march through Salisbury, with a "decentralised day of smaller actions".
It is such the second such protest by Animal Justice Project at Porton Down in the last six months.
Protests took place on Saturday from 12pm to 2pm outside Porton Down, and on Queens Street in Salisbury city centre, from 2pm to 4pm.
There were 75 events taking place across the UK, as well as contact with groups in countries such as Australia, Belgium, Italy, Canada, Netherlands, the Philippines, Poland and Sweden.
'Cruel and unreliable experiments'
World Day for Animals In Laboratories protest, Porton Down
The group say Porton Down has refused three Freedom of Information requests this year regarding "vile" experiments on animals.
Animal Justice Project said: "We know that all animal experiments are cruel and unreliable, but there is something especially chilling about experiments where substances that are designed to cause terrible suffering and death in humans are intentionally given to non-human animals.
"The use of such weapons against humans is banned and yet it is still possible to expose animals to the chemicals to test for potential treatments for humans. This is utterly unethical."
The group say that Porton Down also funds and collaborates with similar experiments overseas, adding: "Why the secrecy if there is nothing to hide about the way these non-human animals are used, and reused again in different experiments?
"Animals are exposed to nerve agents nerve gases, chemical weapons, blast injuries, biological weapons in order to cause diseases including viruses, fungi and toxins produced by plants or animals."
World Day for Animals In Laboratories protest, Porton Down
They say that "non-human animals experience great fear, loneliness, bewilderment, grief, loss , psychological trauma and severe pain just as much as humans do".
The group has petitioned the Government to ban all animal tests and research on non-human animals.
It says: "How immoral it is to make war on each other then use non-human animals as target practice and 'systems' investigations.
"We wish to ban all warfare experiments on non-human animals and our protests aim to educate the public."
Porton Down / DSTL has been contacted for comment.
Get more Salisbury news and nominate your local heroes for the South Wiltshire Hero Awards.
You can also like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter and Instagram to stay up to date.
If you want online news with fewer ads, unlimited access and reader rewards - plus a chance to support our local journalism - find out more about registering or a digital subscription.
Email newsdesk@salisburyjournal.co.uk with your comments, pictures, letters and news stories.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here