Utah House passes bill to conceal names of animal researchers

The Utah House of Representatives passed a bill this week that would authorize the concealment of the private information of all animal researchers at state colleges and universities.

The bill’s backers argue that it is necessary to keep the addresses and phone numbers of animal researchers private for their own personal safety.

State Sen. Greg Bell (R) said he sponsored the legislation after a local animal rights group was accused of harassing university employees and vandalizing their homes.

But Utah Primate Freedom’s Harold Rose said the bill won’t impact his group’s efforts since the names and addresses of researchers were not found using Freedom of Information Act requests.

The state Senate president signed the measure on Feb. 25 and it now heads to the governor’s desk.