Animal Rights Advocacy Research Articles

Species Relationship and Animal Cruelty in Karen Joy Fowler’s We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves

Over time, multiplicity or replication has influenced life, and life itself has in various ways affected and been affected by the physical environment. A typical example of a member of the physical environment that has been expressly affected by man is the non-human members of the environment especially, animals. Cruelty against animals is an emerging concern in global ecological discourse in recent times. This paper however examines species relationship and animal cruelty in Karen Joy Fowler’s We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves. The objective is to critically investigate how man relates with animals and the spate of cruelty against animals in the physical environment. In order to achieve this set intention, the study engages the theoretical exposition of ecocriticism mainly because of its commitment to environmentalist philosophy. Contrary to a jaundiced belief that animals should not make ecologic discourses, the research reveals that animals are members of the physical environment but are subjected to oppressive cruelty. It shows also that animal rights advocacy is within the purview of environmental literature. The study indicates that species relationships can be a useful standard for gauging the health of the ecosystem.

Veganism’s Anti-Anthropocentric Capacity. A Critical Analysis of the Advocacy Discourse of Three Prominent Vegan Organisations

Anthropocentrism has been identified as a root cause of nonhuman animal and intrahuman oppressions and the environmental crisis. Veganism has been celebrated as a philosophy and practice capable of undermining anthropocentrism, yet the anti-anthropocentric capacity of vegan advocacy is understudied. The current research provides a critical analysis of the online advocacy discourse of three prominent vegan organisations – The Vegan Society, PETA, and Viva! – elucidating areas of anthropocentric reinforcement and subversion in correspondence to the conceptual characteristics of anthropocentrism: human-centred narcissism and exceptionalism, the perceived human/animal dichotomy, and a corresponding moral hierarchy that exalts particular understandings of the “human” to the detriment of all considered other-than (Calarco 2014). Given the interconnectedness of nonhuman and human oppressions and importance of decentring the anthropocentric conception of the “human”, the intersectional strengths and shortcomings of the organisations’ vegan advocacy is additionally considered, with many areas of needed improvement being highlighted. The article contributes to research on vegan/nonhuman animal rights advocacy and social movement communication, and facilitates the future production of anti-anthropocentric, intersectional, vegan advocacy campaigns.

Luma and Gunda Stare Back: Integrating Nonhuman Perspectives in The Ecofeminist Documentary

Documentaries about non-human animals abound, but how many of these films are truly attempting to narrate their perspective? Both blue-chip ‘nature’ documentaries narrated by David Attenborough and animal rights advocacy documentaries have an anthropocentric approach: either the non-human animal is turned into a spectacle for the human gaze, or into a helpless “victim in need for human mercy and rescue” (Freeman & Tulloch 2013, 6). The aim of this paper is to make a case for the potentiality of the documentary form as a means to find new, interspeciesist ways of representing non-human animal subjectivities. It also investigates some of the methodologies used to explore the possibility of integrating the non-human animal perspective in documentary. To do so, this paper looks into examples of recent documentaries Gunda (Kossakovsky 2020) and Cow (Arnold 2021), suggesting that these films are able to put critical ecofeminist thought into practice. Moreover, this paper argues that methods such as those invested in sensory ethnography can be useful to let the nonhuman animal ‘speak’ for him or herself, in line with the ecofeminist aim of exposing the underlying power structure resulting in all forms of oppression. Furthermore, this paper explores Anat Pick’s notion of vegan cinema (2018)

Culture and Freedom of Religion: Interrogating Animal Rights

When religious freedom and animal interests do clash many people believes that humans have a strong interest being free to practise their religion. Hence, this work interrogates the problem of animals rights within culture and freedom of religious expression. This work evaluated whether the human interest in freedom of religion trumps animals’ interests in avoiding pain and in being killed. This acknowledges that only some few religions actually require their followers to harm animals. Thus, the animal rights advocacy of this work only has the potential to impinge upon religious freedom on a very rare number of occasions. However, for those religious pratices that encourages harming of animals, this work argues that the interest in religion cannot be regarded as ‘special’, meriting priority over any other competing interest. Nor can the goal of equalising individuals’ opportunity to pursue their conception of the good take priority over all other claims. Just as we would not let humans suffer intolerably in the name of religion or equal opportunity, nor should we let animals. And just as we would not let human infants be killed in the name of religion or equal opportunity, nor should we let animals.

Causation, Responsibility, and Harm: How the Discursive Shift from Law and Ethics to Social Justice Sealed the Plight of Nonhuman Animals.

Moral and political philosophers no longer condemn harm inflicted on nonhuman animals as self-evidently as they did when animal welfare and animal rights advocacy was at the forefront in the 1980s, and sentience, suffering, species-typical behavior, and personhood were the basic concepts of the discussion. The article shows this by comparing the determination with which societies seek responsibility for human harm to the relative indifference with which law and morality react to nonhuman harm. When harm is inflicted on humans, policies concerning negligence and duty of care and principles such as the 'but for' rule and the doctrine of double effect are easily introduced. When harm is inflicted on nonhumans, this does not happen, at least not any more. As an explanation for the changed situation, the article offers a shift in discussion and its basic terminology. Simple ethical considerations supported the case for nonhuman animals, but many philosophers moved on to debate different views on political justice instead. This allowed the creation of many conflicting views that are justifiable on their own presuppositions. In the absence of a shared foundation, this fragments the discussion, focuses it on humans, and ignores or marginalizes nonhuman animals.

Portraits of Veganism: A Comparative Discourse Analysis of a Second-Order Subculture

Veganism has enjoyed increasing popularity and more sustained scholarly attention during the past several years. Using insights from cultural theory, this study conducts a qualitative discourse analysis of two vegan-promoting documentary films: Forks over Knives (2011) and Vegucated (2010). Each of these popular vegan-promoting films renders a different portrait of vegans and advances distinct motivations for the adoption of a vegan lifestyle. Forks over Knives promotes health veganism rooted in scientific arguments about the dietary benefits of veganism. By contrast, Vegucated promotes holistic veganism that, while encompassing personal health benefits, also promotes animal rights advocacy and environmental consciousness. These competing portrayals reveal an important fissure line within veganism, one that may have implications for the growth of this movement. Veganism is a distinctive second-order subculture situated within the broader vegetarian subculture. However, veganism maintains cultural relevance by drawing on quintessentially American discourses of individualism, science, healthy living, and environmental awareness.

La animalidad en cuestión: derechos, ontologías, moralidades y políticas

En este artículo quiero analizar críticamente los postulados de la corriente de pensamiento que ha servido de sustento a la militancia a favor del derecho animal: el antiespecismo. Luego de un breve repaso por el surgimiento histórico de esta corriente, he de comentar los principales rasgos del giro animal del pensamiento. Desde mi punto de vista, no hay en estas formulaciones ni gran novedad ni ruptura sustantiva con el statu quo. En primer lugar, el pensamiento occidental reactualiza bajo su propio horizonte de sentido lo que muchas sociedades indígenas no han dejado de experimentar en su vida ordinaria desde muchísimo tiempo atrás: la atribución de humanidad a los animales y la vivencia de una interconexión entre los seres. Por otra parte, el giro animal del pensamiento no propone un horizonte político claro, ni tampoco tematiza qué ha de suceder cuando algún derecho animal entre en conflicto con las posibilidades de supervivencia de un grupo humano específico.

Religiosity and Public Reason: The Case of Direct Action Animal Rights Advocacy

Recent social science research indicates that animal rights philosophy plays the functional role of a religion in the lives of the most committed animal rights advocates. In this paper, I apply the functional religion thesis to the recent debate over the place of direct action animal rights advocacy in democratic theory. I outline the usefulness of the functional religion thesis and explain its implications for theorists that call for deliberative theories to be more inclusive of coercive forms of activism.

Toward the Eco-Narrative: Rethinking the Role of Conflict in Storytelling

Offered as a response to the increasingly popular call within the eco-humanities for stories that will help humankind adapt to catastrophic planetary conditions, this article proposes “the eco-narrative”—an approach to storytelling that strives to compose with, not for, its nonhuman characters. An extension of eco-critical projects that analyze stories for their depictions of nonhumanity, the theoretical research herein brings ecological analysis of narrative to the level of structure. In particular, it problematizes the dominant plot model of conflict/climax/resolution, suggesting that stories motivated by conflict reinforce dualistic and anthropocentric habits for approaching the animal other. Evaluating two narratives concerning the human practice of killing animals—the Pew Commission’s report on Industrial Farm Animal Production and Annette Watson and Orville H. Huntington’s “They’re here—I can feel them”—the article observes how the former’s efforts at animal rights advocacy are undermined by its very storytelling framework. Celebrating the latter story’s more playful approach to narrative instead, the article ultimately suggests that a theory of “infinite play,” as developed by James P. Carse, can be used to re-envision the dominant plot model. A template for cooperation in the absence of known outcome, infinite play thus becomes the basis for the eco-narrative—a storytelling framework flexible enough to cocreate with nonhumanity, even during an environmental moment characterized by crisis.

Animal Rights Advocacy and Legitimate Public Deliberation

In this article I offer a response to recent debate over direct action animal advocacy and legitimate public deliberation in liberal democracies. Mathew Humphrey and Marc Stears and Stephen D'Arcy have argued that liberal democracies ought to tolerate direct action animal advocacy in the interests of promoting the right of proponents of non-mainstream views to inform public deliberation and decision making. I argue that the precise scope of Humphrey and Stears' and D'Arcy's analyses is unclear and important parts of their theory are under-described. I highlight the logical and practical implications of their claim that direct action is useful as a means of overcoming the stifling influence of conventional wisdom. I conclude by arguing that tolerance for direct action advocacy ought not to extend to controversial animal rights campaigning tactics such as making threats, using incendiary devices and damaging property.

The Politics of Animal Rights Advocacy

The main aim of this paper is to make the case that the politics of animal rights advocacy rests with establishing the moral and legal status of animals as a public policy issue. Presently, animal rights is primarily framed as an optional lifestyle choice. It is not understood as a matter for mainstream politics, including public policy, the policies of political parties, regulations and legislation. Starting with Barbara Noske’s concept of the animal industrial complex, I consider the present status of the many traditions, cultural norms, economic and other incentives which license our instrumental use animals for human gain. I propose a five-part evaluation process of social movements and use it to evaluate the modern animal rights movement. I critique its present strategy with its emphasis on personal lifestyle choice as inadequate in challenging the animal industrial complex. I conclude the modern animal rights movement must implement a long-term strategy which advances animal issues as public policy, which is in addition to its present strategy promoting optional vegan, crueltyfree lifestyle choice.

Resonance of Moral Shocks in Abolitionist Animal Rights Advocacy: Overcoming Contextual Constraints

Abstract Jasper and Poulsen (1995) have long argued that moral shocks are critical for recruitment in the nonhuman animal rights movement. Building on this, Decoux (2009) argues that the abolitionist faction of the nonhuman animal rights movement fails to recruit members because it does not effectively utilize descriptions of suffering. However, the effectiveness of moral shocks and subsequent emotional reactions has been questioned. This article reviews the literature surrounding the use of moral shocks in social movements. Based on this review, it is suggested that the exploitation of emotional reactions to depictions of suffering can sometimes prove beneficial to recruitment, but successful use is contextually rooted in preexisting frameworks, ideology, and identity. It is concluded that a reliance on images and narratives might be misconstrued in a society dominated by nonhuman animal welfare ideology.

The Myth of “Animal Rights Terrorism”

Animal rights advocacy is frequently presented as being linked with terrorism. This paper questions that linkage, suggests that accusations of violence are greatly exaggerated and argues that the terrorist image is the product of corporate propaganda. The paper examines some of the main institutional sources of such propaganda.

State Management of Freshwater Fisheries Resources: Its Organizational Structure, Funding, and Programmatic Emphases

This paper summarizes responses by heads of freshwater fisheries management agencies to a questionnaire requesting information about agency responsibilities, public oversight of agency activities, the most important issues agencies now face, and sources and allocation of funding to support fisheries management programs. Although responsible for managing consumptively used and nongame or endangered aquatic resources, agencies have limited or no responsibility in overseeing the condition of aquatic systems supporting these resources. A commission of citizens oversees the activities of most state fisheries agencies, some setting policy and approving budgets, others serving only an advisory role. A few states receive substantial public tax revenues, but the major source of funding for most remains license revenues and Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration funds, which constitute an average 83% of the total revenues available to conduct agency activities. More than half of all expenditures by fisheries agencies support hatchery production and stocking, and population surveys for developing harvest regulations. As their responsibilities have broadened and increased, many agencies have increased the cost of fishing licenses. However, increased costs generally have not led to a decline in license purchases. There is a positive relationship between population density of states and the importance of providing eating advisories to the public, and addressing issues related to animal-rights and animal-protection. Some management issues were deemed important by fisheries agencies regardless of geographic region, while the importance of others, such as animal-rights advocacy, put-and-take stocking versus management of wild resources, and Native American fishing rights varied regionally.

GENDER, GENDER IDEOLOGY, AND ANIMAL RIGHTS ADVOCACY

Research on women's preponderance among animal rights advocates explains it exclusively as a product of women's socialization, emphasizing a relational orientation of care and nurturing that extends to animals. The authors propose a more structural explanation: Women's experiences with structural oppression make them more disposed to egalitarian ideology, which creates concern for animal rights. Using data from a 1993 national sample, the authors find that an egalitarian gender ideology is a key difference in women's and men's routes to animal rights advocacy: It differentiates those more likely to endorse animal rights among women but not among men. Neither this ideology nor other variables in the analysis, however, account for women's greater overall support of animal rights in the combined sample. Reasons for this latter finding are explored.

Cockfight in the cotton: A moral crusade in microcosm

Due to its unique socio-cultural heritage, Louisiana is one of only four states in which cockfighting is legal. During the 1980s various animal-rights advocacy groups have attempted to stigmatize and criminalize the activity. This situation has precipitated local and state-wide conflicts in which urban-cosmopolitan “progressive” New South boosters, allied with traditional and non-conventional animal-rights activists, are pitted against congeries of rural, blue collar “sports-men” who are, in turn, allied with state and national lobbying organizations of their own. Participant-observation, archival research, content analysis and life histories are used in the exploration of a clash of cultures, or more specifically, a clash of world-views. Not surprisingly, the present lobbying activity and proposed legislation contain many of the attributes of the prototypical moral crusade. In addition, the milieux of both cockfighters and reformers are described and contrasted.