Animal Rights Organizations Research Articles

Bringing The Outsiders In: Opponents' Claims and The Construction of Animal Rights Activists' Identity

Most research on the role of identity in social movements treats identity as something that is constructed solely by movement participants themselves. However, participants are not the only actors involved in this identity construction. This article uses basic insights from symbolic interactionism to argue that external claims, or claims made about movement participants by those outside the movement, also shape activists' sense of identity. Using data collected during three years of fieldwork with members of a non-violent animal rights organization, I show how the activists made use of their opponents' depictions of them—in particular, charges that the activists were "overly emotional" and "irrational"—when describing themselves. Specifically, I illustrate two processes by which these external claims left their mark on the activists' identity: identity disconfirmation and identity recasting. More broadly, I suggest that "bringing the outsiders in" to examinations of identity and collective action provides a more complete picture not simply of identity construction but of movement dynamics as a whole.

Animal Rights and Experimentation: Exploring and Examining the Issue on the Internet

ABSTRACT For librarians, assisting patrons in locating balanced and unbiased information on controversial topics can be a frustrating and difficult task. Among those issues is the animal rights movement in the United States, which is among the most contentious of today's societal controversies. The controversy began with the founding of the ASPCA and other animal rights organizations in the late 1800s, fueled by the rise in experimental medicine and the consequent use of animals in research in the United States. Many Web sites exist today that seek to educate the reader about one side of this controversy or the other. This article hopes to provide the librarian with the background and history to understand the movement and its resources in order to provide library users with a balanced view of both sides of the controversy.

The ethical basis of intensive livestock production systems

Many of the ethical issues regarding the livestock production systems of the late twentieth century have concentrated on the process of intensification. The extent of public disquiet at the welfare and ethical implications of intensification has been reflected in the burgeoning membership of animal welfare and animal rights organisations. The reasons for this increase as well as the impact that it has had on the livestock industry can be traced back to the 1960s, to factors such as the growing urbanisation of the population and especially the emergence of the animal rights movement which focused attention on a wide range of issues including the human exploitation of other animal species. This in turn led to a demarcation between those who supported the animal welfare cause and those who argued for animal rights.

The ethical basis of intensive livestock production systems

Many of the ethical issues regarding the livestock production systems of the late twentieth century have concentrated on the process of intensification. The extent of public disquiet at the welfare and ethical implications of intensification has been reflected in the burgeoning membership of animal welfare and animal rights organisations. The reasons for this increase as well as the impact that it has had on the livestock industry can be traced back to the 1960s, to factors such as the growing urbanisation of the population and especially the emergence of the animal rights movement which focused attention on a wide range of issues including the human exploitation of other animal species. This in turn led to a demarcation between those who supported the animal welfare cause and those who argued for animal rights.

GENDER, CLASS, AND SOCIAL MOVEMENT OUTCOMES

Animal rights organizations in the United States are predominantly female and middle class. What are the implications of the composition of these groups for animal rights activists' abilities to achieve their goals? In this article, the author examines the role of class and gender in the outcomes of an anti-hunting campaign and an anti-circus campaign waged by one animal rights organization in the Seattle area. The article shows that hunters make classed and gendered attributions about the activists, whereas circus patrons do not view activists in terms of these statuses and end up taking their demands more seriously. It is suggested that an “identity interaction” between the activists' class and gender identity and that of their targets helps to explain these different reactions. The analysis also highlights the role of emotion in social movements, especially the ways in which targets perceive and react to activists' emotional displays.

NAS-Quasi or not?

It isn't often a public interest group can grab by the tail an institution made up of dozens of Nobel Prize winners, swing it around, and see where it lands. But that is about what three animal rights organizations have done with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in their suit that, on Oct. 3, was brought to petition before the U.S. Supreme Court. Much is at stake here. The animal rights groups, led by the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), wants the National Research Council (NRC), the principal operating arm of NAS, to be seen not as an independent entity but as a government agency, subject to the openness requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). FACA requires agencies to supervise the work of their advisory committees, even determine their makeup, and, except for proprietary and personal discussions, keep them completely open for input from the public. The academy contends that if die ...

The Use of Animals in Medical Education-Reply

In Reply. —Dr Kaufman's criticism of the use of animals in medical education is not surprising, for it reflects the views of the chairman of a self-professed animal rights group. Contrary to the views stated by Dr Kaufman, the AMA supports the responsible use of animals in medical research and teaching in much the same way as it supports the appropriate use of technology in medicine: after rigorous and carefully thought-out analysis of benefit, risk, and cost. Certainly fellow students, surrogate patients, and even patients represent important learning tools. However, as stated in Ms Foreman's article, most expert opinion recognizes the necessity for the use of animals in medical education and research. It is a bit ironic that Dr Kaufman alludes to a taxpayer's right to demonstrate against a particular biomedical research activity that he or she feels objectionable. Quite often monies collected by animal rights organizations are used to

The use of animals in research.

A law professor, who was a member of the National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council committee which authored The Use of Laboratory Animals in Biomedical and Behavioral Research, argues that political attacks by animal rights organizations constitute the most important practical aspect of this issue because they lead to restrictions that severely inhibit the ability of researchers to afford the use of animals. Researchers and "patient groups" must be mobilized to struggle against these organizations in order to prevent a disaster from overtaking biomedical research in the United States.