Animal Activism and Interspecies Change

Abstract

In Chapter 7, the author focuses on the role of non-human animals as agents of social and political change. This role is not usually acknowledged in theory or in animal activism, because non-human animals are not seen as political actors or as agents of social change, even though they act politically and influence human political institutions and practices. This is problematic because it does not recognize non-human animal agency, and reinforces viewing them as mute, in contrast to human actors, which reaffirms anthropocentrism and unequal power relations. We therefore need to explore non-human animal activism and possibilities for interspecies political change. In this chapter, the author first discusses non-human animal acts of resistance, and investigates whether these acts can be seen as civil disobedience. She then turns to the relation between non-human animal oppression and the oppression of human groups via a discussion of intersectionality. This is followed by a discussion of the question of speaking for others, and options for assisting other animals as activists. The final section discusses how stray dog agency can function as a starting point for change.