4 Arrested at UCI in Protest Aimed at Animal Rights

UCI police arrested four animal-rights activists who refused to leave a professor’s office, where they were demanding that the university stop animal research, authorities said.

The four protesters were taken into custody near the office of Dr. Edward Jones, chairman of the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology. Jones is known for his research into brain development, according to university officials and police.

Arrested were Jorge Curiel, 27; Darcy McMullen, 19; Gerard Livernois, 32; and Leila Saidyekta, 19, none of whom appeared to be UCI students, spokesman Richard Elbaum said.

Animal research “is absolutely necessary,” Elbaum said. “Virtually every medical treatment known has been developed using animals, from heart transplants to CPR to virtually every vaccine given to children.”

Jones was targeted possibly because his research into the development of schizophrenia involves animals, including monkeys, school officials said.

When campus officers gave the activists the option of leaving or getting arrested, two people left and four others were held, Elbaum said.