Animal activist on edge of coma

BARRY HORNE, the animal rights activist, was on the edge of a coma last night as the 62nd day of his hunger strike approached.

Horne, who is serving an 18-year sentence for a series of fire-bombings, said yesterday that he was starving himself to death "for every animal in every torture lab".

The 46-year-old former dustman is being treated in York District Hospital, but his condition has deteriorated rapidly over the past three days.

He began his strike on 6 October at Full Sutton prison, claiming that the Government had broken a manifesto promise to reduce animal experimentation.

This is Horne's third hunger strike since his conviction last year. This time, though, he has made it clear he does not want medical assistance to prolong his life.

Last night, a Home Office spokesman confirmed that Horne's condition was "serious, but still stable".

Although he is having difficulty breathing and has lost all hearing in one ear, over the weekend he communicated his resolution to die if necessary. His weight has fallen to eight stone and doctors believe that even if he began to eat, his chances of survival would be slim.

Meanwhile, five animal rights campaigners were arrested yesterday during an anti-vivisection protest at a commercial cat farm.

Four women and a man were arrested when 45 activists staged a protest at Hill Grove Farm in Witney, Oxfordshire. The five were detained for suspected public order offences and are being held at Newbury police station.

The campaigners are demanding the right to inspect conditions at the farm, run by its owner Christopher Brown, who breeds cats for commercial purposes.

The campaign is the latest in a series of protests which culminated in April with a mass demonstration, when the farm was attacked with missiles.

Horne's supporters in the Animals Betrayed Coalition group have issued a statement saying that a medical examination has established the damaging effect of his actions. In addition to suffering deafness, Horne is blind in one eye and has blurred vision in the other. His liver function has been badly damaged, and he is severely dehydrated.

In a message released this weekend he said: "I want to die. This is the end. In death you win." And he added: "I am fading, sinking, going down."

Although weak and short of breath, he was quoted as saying: "It is not a question of dying. It's a question of fighting. If I die, so be it. We have tried to negotiate with the Government. They have condemned me to death ... Politicians promise but why do we put up with them not keeping their commitments? Why do people laugh at politicians being liars all the time? We should be angry instead."

The coalition group said it will continue to press the Government over Horne's call for a Royal Commission, or an equivalent independent investigation into animal experiments "right up to the end".

"If the Government announces that a Royal Commission or similar independent body is to be established before the next election, at a date to be agreed, Barry will end his hunger strike immediately," it said. The Government has said it will not respond to blackmail.

The Animals Betrayed Coalition said his condition was critical and that Horne had already suffered permanent physical damage through his fast.

Horne was yesterday "stable but continuing to give cause for concern", said a spokesman at York District Hospital.

In a statement, the group said a medical examination showed total blindness in one eye and blurred vision in the other.

Denying that he condoned violence, Horne said:"I cannot comment on any one group or another. People must do what they feel is right in response to my death. Look at the evil of Nazis and the level of violence needed - quite rightly - to stop them."

A letter scrawled in his own hand said: "Words are cheap. Only actions really count. This is not for me, it is for every animal in every torture lab.

"We are creating a turning point - a moment in history that will be remembered. Never doubt this. We will see an end to this evil."

Serving the harshest sentence handed down to an animal rights protester, Horne was being held in one of Britain's highest security prisons following a fire-bombing campaign which struck shops in the south and west of England and the Isle of Wight.

Police expect an escalation of animal rights protests if Horne dies, and the Animal Rights Militia has put out a hit list of 10 people it says will be assassinated.

One of four named targets on the list is Christopher Brown, who breeds cats for experimentation at Hillgrove Farm in Oxfordshire.

The others, who are all involved in medical research, are Professor Colin Blakemore, of Oxford University; Clive Page, of King's College, London; and Dr Mark Matfield, of the Research Defence Society.

The Metropolitan Police Special Branch have alerted the four to the threat.

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