A state committee in Utah is refusing to release the names of animal researchers at the University of Utah, citing safety concerns.

A member of Utah Primate Freedom, which opposes the use of animals in research, had sought the names, titles, and salaries of employees and researchers at the university’s Animal Resource Center under a state open-records law, the Associated Press reported today.

University officials agreed to provide the salaries and titles but said they would not disclose the names because that could jeopardize the safety of people who work in the animal labs. The Utah State Records Committee sided with the university on Thursday, but suggested that the institution ask the Legislature to change state law if it wants the names kept private.

Attacks by animal-rights extremist groups have grown in frequency and size in recent years, according to federal law-enforcement officials. Authorities in Los Angeles are investigating animal-rights activists who claim to have placed a bomb this week under a car belonging to an eye researcher at UCLA. The explosive failed to detonate. —Karin Fischer