Repeated sabotage attacks by eco-terrorists in Britain have ruined several years’ worth of field trials of plants bred with molecular plant breeding methods. Now the Brits are reevaluating the transparency policy around the trials, considering whether the location of the trial sites should remain hidden from the public unless individuals can prove a need to know.

Armed guards and other surveillance measures did not prevent BASF from losing an entire years’ worth of research last year, and the cost of losing so much data is forcing the firms to move the trials outside of Britain. This might be a temporary victory for the activists, as the plants would still receive approval for commercial growth by the British government.