Critical Animal Studies: Practical Responses
Tips for activism covering virtually the whole
spectrum.
Background to this Article
Given to Critical Animal Studies at Brock
University. Tips for activism, in effect, but unbiased since
covers virtually the whole spectrum of animal activism. Anyone
who wishes to adapt it for their own teaching purposes may do
so with the proper acknowledgement. This document is also
available in pdf form and has
an accompanying handout.
"Action is the antidote to despair."
- Joan Baez
Introduction
Many people feel helpless in the face of widespread animal
suffering brought about by human hands. This is a problem on
top of the problem, as it were. Yet I want students to feel
powerful in response to animal-related issues. And this
is no idle fantasy. There are steps that any person can take
that are indeed powerful. Anything added to that is icing on
the cake, or "more power to the powerful."
Critical Animal Studies (CAS) involves thinking for oneself
using the tools of logic. I always tell my students never to
take my word for anything I say. Students are encouraged to
research their own facts and to figure out for themselves what
may be best to conclude. There are no free-floating "answers" -
people inevitably must arrive at their own. Answers are only
ever found by people asking questions. As an educator I model
standing up for what one believes in, whatever that might be.
To be a person of full integrity, one needs to live and breathe
the way of life that one thinks best, not merely to think or
talk about it.
CAS at Brock University is a leading program of its kind in
North America. Only Notre Dame de Namur University in
California has comparable course offerings. Now it is
improbable up to this point in your life that you should ever
be offered full-spectrum information about what you can do to
help animals, since the primary conduits of information are the
education system and the media. First, the education system is
funded by governments that do not wish to diminish any aspects
of the economy, including animal-based industries. Also, fully
extending into high school, parents often do not wish to risk
their children returning from school wanting to be vegetarians,
and these parents often have a predominant influence over
school administrators. As for the media, it is not "news" that
there is factory farming, for example, and also, private
corporations which sponsor media productions have powerful and
far-reaching interests to see that a "discourse of
ignorance"[1] is perpetuated, so that
passive and uninformed consumers do not question what manners
of suffering might be associated with various commercial
products. The failure of the education system and the media to
deliver full-spectrum information concerning animal protection
also makes it less likely that anyone will learn about such
things from relatives, friends, or others.
Now it is true that academic courses do not specifically
exist in order to forge activists out of students. However, the
spirit in which the courses are offered is at the same time far
from indifferent to matters of cruelty, exploitation,
injustice, and other concerns. Women's Studies course
instructors dream of a world without sexism, and anti-racism
courses likewise suggest a vision of the world that embodies
wide-ranging social justice.
There are different forms of curriculum: (1) superficial;
(2) analytical; (3) critical; and (4) transformative. The
analytical offers more information than the superficial, and
the critical evaluates all that is presented through the
analyses. However, even the critical can fall short of asking
people to consider what practical responses may be appropriate,
which is the domain of the transformative. Open transformative
education, that truly encourages critical thinking or
evaluating for oneself, does not seek to convert people into
anything particular, but rather to think about self-change and
social change along the lines that seem appropriate to the
student. I offer a spectrum of ways to protect animals
unapologetically.[2] Brock University has
a history of academic and activist conferences concerning
animals which is an important part of the institution's history
of transformative curriculum. The Brock University Sociology
Department seeks to promote social justice at local, national,
and international levels, and is open to the suggestion that
anti-speciesism may play an important part in such
struggles.
In Critical Animal Studies courses, writings and films often
deeply affect students. It is not uncommon to see a classroom
full of ashen-faced, stunned, and disturbed students after
screening a documentary of how animals are treated for food,
dissection, fur-trapping, and so on. Recently, a student
expressed concern that students may feel anxious, depressed or
helpless in the face of these facts, which are often aspects of
very powerful industrial practices. It is a social fact that
there is often such a reaction, and therefore it is a social
problem for this program. The CAS courses are not "animal
rights courses," although I notice with bemusement that
students often refer to them that way. That said, however,
there is no reason why CAS students should not consider animal
rights forms of practice - among other forms - at least for the
purposes of social understanding, and also for possible
implementation if the given student deems that to be fitting.
The CAS classes offer a conference-like atmosphere in which
different views are respected, and accordingly, this booklet
will offer resources that are of interest to all kinds
of students who wish to either reduce their personal
association with cruelty, or who wish entirely to divest
themselves of what they perceive to be speciesist
discrimination and domination.
Accordingly, this paper does not tell students what position
to take but offers practical resources for students who tend to
fall into 3 broad camps:
- traditional animal welfarist - agrees that animals
may be used in traditional ways for food, clothing, hunting,
entertainment, etc., but that such usage must avoid cruelty
or inhumaneness.
- partial abolitionist - accepts some usages of
animals, such as eating them or using them for medical
vivisection, but deems many uses of animals to be examples of
needless cruelty, such as sport hunting, testing cosmetics on
animals, rodeos, animal circuses, marine mammal aquaria, the
veal crate, foie gras, wearing fur, or perhaps other
practices. In my section noting remarkable progress in animal
protection, it will be evident that many legislatures around
the world have adopted partial abolitionist measures of the
sort listed above.
- complete abolitionist - rejects all uses of
animals that involve harming them as fundamentally
unjust.
I will have the most to say about animal liberation activism
for a few reasons:
- There is more to do with animal liberation, i.e., more
challenges, and much more that can be done since it
challenges animals used as commodities for example;
- I have more experience and therefore knowledge to share
about animal liberation activism.
- I believe that animal liberation is morally right, as I
defend elsewhere using the resources of moral theory.
General Notes about Activisms
In this document I make a distinction, which I have not seen
anywhere but find to be illuminating, between private
activism and public activism. Private activism
involves, first, activism towards the self (which is also a
category that I have not seen discussed but I think urgently
needs to be) and second, activism towards others in one's
private life such as friends, relatives, acquaintances, and
colleagues. Public activism seeks to reach the general public
at large. Let us deal with ways of being effective in all modes
of activism.
Private Activism: Activism Towards the Self
People tend to think of "activism" only as reaching out to
other people. However, it is also about reaching into yourself
in various ways, as odd as that may sound. You relate to
yourself intellectually, emotionally, physically, and perhaps
in some sense spiritually. There are ways of relating to
yourself that are more likely to promote a realistic
understanding of the world, a positive outlook, and an active
engagement with realities. Here are some ideas to assist in
private activism:
- Educate yourself so that you can make informed choices
and also educate others.
- Sociology more than any other discipline reveals that
social movements are made of individuals. Therefore, every
decision of individuals that might bring one into accord with
a social movement, or as part of a collective "we," is
critical for the greater or lesser success of social
movements. No social movement entirely fails so long as it
remains alive with hope and relevant activities.
- Dealing with possible feelings of guilt in a
rational manner is crucial. People rightly fear "the blame
game," and I have heard one psychologist suggest that
negative criticism is what people fear the most. This fact
highlights the importance of feeling badly about actions
pertaining to animals. Yet there is an honorable way of
getting past "the blame game" as I will clarify. Guilty or
even shameful feelings play an important role particularly
when people consider the claims of animal liberationists that
most people are involved in violent and life-threatening
abuses of nonhuman animals. Now it is understandable that
people may try to repress guilt feelings or engage in denial,
or else to try to purge guilt feelings through blind
conformism since after all the majority of people feel no
remorse at all about their role in the lives of countless
animals. It is worth considering that if an average person
had a role in wrongfully killing or causing extreme suffering
to a human being, that might be experienced as traumatic. If
untreated, there could result serious mental disturbance to
the end of the person's days. A different outcome is needed,
including in the case of animal abuse. We can redeem
ourselves for the future by deciding to be benign in relation
to animals. However, what about the past? Perhaps the best
model for us here is that embraced by the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in South Africa. It is a true
wonder of the world that apartheid, the racist regime
there, was overthrown in a bloodless revolution. Part of this
phenomenon is due to the traditional native philosophy of
South Africa, called ubuntu, which, in the Bantu
languages means "humanity towards others." According to
ubuntu in the TRC, past actions, even violent ones,
were forgiven if the perpetrator lucidly confessed actions to
those concerned with them. Amnesty was granted only so long
as actions were politically motivated, proportionate, and
full disclosure was offered. Such a model seemed appropriate
since many racist acts under apartheid were systematic
and society-wide, much as speciesism arguably is today. Such
actions were perhaps less a sign of vicious individuals than
they were indications of a lamentable and outrageous social
system. Ubuntu is a way to move forward with
forgiveness, rehabilitation, understanding, and a lack of
vindictiveness or revenge. Perhaps such an outcome is best
for all concerned. Harm to animals is politically movtivated
if it is just part of hegemonic, speciesist power relations.
Disproportionate harm such as animal torture however would
need to be addressed by the state since that is not
"systematic" but rather socially despised. As for full
disclosure, it is important that people be honest with
themselves and try to move on from the past in the most
constructive possible way. However, guilty feelings can swing
both ways. Many humanists try to make animal liberationists
or even welfarists feel guilty of making nonhuman animals a
priority when there is so much human misery in the world.
However, we should make it a joint priority to end abuse and
injustice everywhere. Anyone can work for human rights
without consuming animals in a way that is contrary to animal
rights. Humans can create a thriving alternative economy that
does not depend on animal exploitation.
- You may experience apathy in response to being
informed about animal issues. Some people think this means it
does not "feel right" to be an animal liberationist, for
example, and so they move on - unmoved. Or they condemn
themselves, for all their apathy, as "bad people" and feel
guilty as "hypocrites." However, each of these reactions to
experiencing apathy deserves to be examined. It should be
understood that habits are extremely powerful psychological
forces which tend towards two kinds of inertia: continuing
with activities that are habitual, and also continuing with
lack of taking action that is habitual - hence the common
experience of apathy. Repeated choices actually rewire the
brain, which helps to explain the formidable, although not
inevitable, power of habits. Apathy is a natural reaction
since not being an animal liberationist is habitual for most
people. Apathy is strongest, therefore, in practices that are
most habitual. For example, eating meat is often more
habitual than buying a particular product that is tested on
animals, and people may enjoy meat-eating more than buying
any particular brand of products. You can choose to
act differently, however, and then you may find yourself not
only changed but charged, and feeling very differently
than when you began. Some passively wait to be transformed if
they are to change at all, not realizing that making one's
own choices after taking responsibility for one's actions is
probably the most potent source of personal change that there
is. With repeated choices, the force of habit gradually gets
to be on your "new" side. Once you get used to the idea of
taking a principled stand against cruelty, it is not only
easy to do, but almost psychologically impossible to do
otherwise!
- Do not automatically dismiss animal liberation because
you think it is "too radical." Anti-racism and anti-sexism
were once greeted with the same dismissive thought. Think
things fearlessly through to the logical end rather than
simply following so-called authorities.
- Many people insist, "I have my reasons for treating
animals as I do." There are always reasons for everything.
However, it is important to distinguish reasons that
explain your behaviour from reasons that might
justify your actions. In seeking to do the right
thing, it is the latter class of reasons that is
relevant.
- Do not despair that your choices do not create
large-scale effects in society. The animal liberation
movement is in its infancy, and the part you play in this
largely latent movement will involve subtle forms of
education and action. Advertisers know that it takes about 7
times of being exposed to an idea before it "sinks in"
generally speaking, and this applies to social movements as
well. Most people have not had their 7 doses of animal
liberation ideas! Besides, the movement is far from impotent:
see my later section on inspiring animal protectionist
achievements.
- Please do not surrender to hopelessness. Exploiters or
abusers would wish for nothing else more dearly. It is one of
the greatest wellsprings of hope and courage to refuse to
play a part in whatever might feed your despair.
Empowering Your Thinking
One dimension of self-activism is checking the way one
thinks, to steer away from toxic thoughts (that are unrealistic
and negative, and so disempowering) and towards constructive
thoughts (that are realistic and positive, or empowering). This
comes from a workshop I delivered on cognitive approaches to
activism, and mainly pertains to animal liberation, although
most of the following also applies to animal welfare
reformers:
Disempowered Thinking versus Empowered Thinking
Disempowered Thought #1: Individuals cannot make a
difference.
Empowered Thought #1:Perhaps individuals cannot have
much impact on speciesism as a whole. However individuals can
have a dramatic effect on parts of that whole. And with every
movement in the ocean there is a ripple effect.
DT #2:So long as there is money to be made from
animal suffering people will always exploit them.
ET #2: Slavery and paying workers without a minimum wage
were profitable for exploiters too, but these went the way of
the dodo. Profit does not always prevail, as achievements of
the animal movement below demonstrate.
DT #3: The media covers issues less and less, so how
can animal rightists possibly get their messages across?
ET #3: People can make the news in different ways.
Austria made history in that all of the animal
protection groups in that nation had a joint news conference
against battery cages for egg-laying hens. This campaign ended
up saturating a sympathetic media, even though battery cages
are not "news" in a sense but have been around for many
decades. Subsequently, such cages were banned in Austria
(and later, all of the European Union).
DT #4: Animal liberationists are doomed to die as
failures since the animals will not be emancipated in our
lifetimes.
ET #4: This fails to distinguish between the short- and
long-terms. We can have a substantial series of successful
actions in the short-term. Also, we need to distinguish between
individual and societal actions. It is inappropriate for any
individual to grandiosely take on responsibility for the whole
movement succeeding. We can measure our own success by our
individual actions, and we can die as great "succeeders" given
both realistic and positive goals in life.
DT #5: The harder I try to convince people, the more
their defences go up and the more hopeless the whole thing
becomes.
ET #5: Being overaggressive merely triggers others'
defences. Being a gentle role model who uses reasoning rather
than brow-beating is more effective, and lets others be more
receptive rather than defensive. Aggression reflects back on
the aggressor and creates frustration, failure, alienation,
coldness, and hostility. In any case, we should not take
responsibility for others' responses. Others' responses are
mainly their business. We should confine our goals to
our own processes that we can control, and leave the
rest to others or to nature. Also, we cannot simply try to
control others but must respect their own agency, and in doing
so they will be more receptive to considerations that one has
to offer than if one tries to influence others as though they
are "objects" or "mechanisms."
DT #6: Anyone sensitive to all suffering in the world
must go mad with despair.
ET #6: Thankfully, we can focus in ways that
allow us to remain positive. We are more likely to help animals
and to have a positive effect if we ourselves are positive in
our cause, exuding positive energy that inspires rather than
misery and despair that mires.
DT #7: I would be selfish to have any regard for my
own pleasures while so many in the world suffer.
ET #7: A positive consideration of one's own happiness
and that of others is consistent with wishing a good life, and
not merely a "not-bad life," to everyone, including oneself.
Individuals are not mere means towards the ends of social
movements. Rather, affirming the dignity of each individual is
basic to social justice.
DT #8: Speciesists are "idiots," "curmudgeons,"
etc.
ET #8: Totally negative labels are inherently unfair,
since no one is all-bad. Also, such labels inspire hatred which
is unpleasant for everyone as well as counterproductive. People
who behave irrationally are best helped through reasoning, not
abuse. Abuse is part of the world's problems, not the
solution.
DT #9: Animal rights is a thinking person's
philosophy. However most people do not think much for
themselves. Therefore, the cause is bound to fail.
ET #9: Thoughtful leaders can be educated, and then the
fact that most people follow others can be used to advantage as
society's leadership is progressively more educated and others
follow suit. Also, we should not give up on educating everyone,
since everyone is capable of learning.
DT #10: I hate people who oppress others.
ET #10: Everyone has good and bad points. Often people
do not know any better. Most people who are animal
liberationist used to be otherwise. Compassion for all animals
includes human animals too. However you might feel about others
- and outrageously negative feelings often correspond to
exaggeratedly negative images of others - you need to think
about what you want to communicate to others. Get away from
thinking about your anger as a purely private matter that is
internal. In gross or subtle ways you will communicate this
inner state to others. Now rage communicates rejection, and
occasions fear, anger, and rebellion in response. That is not a
constructive or cooperative state. Is that the message you wish
to send? Is that the response you wish to get? Wanting to
change your personal (including body language and "aura")
message will go a long way towards toning things down and
getting calmer. Moreover, you can change by focusing more on
the positive and taking a strictly constructive approach to the
negative.
DT #11: The world is predominantly speciesist and
speciesism is evil. Therefore the world is predominantly
evil.
ET #11: In my opinion, evil - as opposed to badness - is
not primarily about outcomes but is more about intentions and
character. In my experience, the world is full of people trying
to do good every day, which does not make the news. If people
can reform their consciences, they may continue to do try to do
good, only they may include animals more regularly in the "good
promotion" equation.
Avoiding "Burnout"
In addition to keeping good "thought hygiene" by thinking
healthy thoughts, and using critical thinking skills such as
avoiding fallacies and inaccurate information, one can take
care of oneself in other ways to cope with the stressful
realities of what happens to animals, both human and other:
- humour
- doing things you enjoy
- keeping company with friends
- enjoying nature
- exercise
- yoga
- meditation
- deep breathing
- artistically enhancing your living environment
- becoming an activist rather than a helpless observer
These and other strategies can help one to avoid activist
"burnout."
Private Activism: Activism Towards Others
Quiet Role Models Who Make a "Loud" Statement
Whatever actions you choose to take, you serve as a role
model in your community. Some have said that setting an
example is the most powerful form of practical education that
exists. Some people wait for others to ask questions once they
are ready rather than foisting their activism on others.
However, there is no social rule against oneself speaking out
about the topic of animal treatment, and there is a real
urgency to speak on behalf of "voiceless" animals.
Diplomacy
Being diplomatic is essential to relating to others
effectively. Diplomacy involves a variety of
considerations:
- Tact about when to discuss matters; giving gory details
while eating does not make sense from this perspective, for
example.
- People tend to shy away from those who are angry and
blaming since it feels terrible to be around such people.
Anger at injustice is understandable but like all anger it
needs to be channeled effectively and indeed politely.
- Avoid being insulting or fostering generalizations or
stereotypes. Openly discuss actions rather than making
generalizations about people. For individuals can
change simply by choosing to act differently.
- Avoid characterizing people as "sadistic" or
"psychopathic" in relation to animals. Often people simply
desire animal products and are largely ignorant of the
actual implications for animals. They often have not even
thought of how to weigh significance to animals when
deliberating.
- We need to remember that compassion for animals includes
human animals who are on the receiving end of our attempts to
educate.
- Being genuinely open to others' questions and reasoning,
and do not assume that you have all of the answers - nobody
does.
- Avoid making assumptions about people. Try to learn about
them and avoid judging them.
- Find out "where people are at" when it comes to animals
and then work from there.
- Being a good representative for the animals, who do not
have a voice of their own, is a great responsibility in a
world in which animals are generally helpless and
"mute."
- Try diplomatically to cultivate diplomacy in other
activists as well.
- Being diplomatic does not mean being wishy-washy. One can
be gentle but firm, steering a course between being merely
passive and being outright aggressive. Assertiveness
is an effective middle-ground to aim for. Passive people do
not stand up for their values or beliefs in the way they
express themselves or perhaps advocate. Aggressive people
risk imposing their views on others in ways that are harsh,
insulting, disrespecting of boundaries, inferiorizing, or
hurtful. Assertive people present their beliefs and try to
actively represent what they see as most fitting, but in a
respectful manner.
- People do not conclude matters on the basis of reasoned
arguments alone. They also come to conclusions, at times,
that reflect their desires. So do not take it
personally if someone with whom you are conversing seems
unmoved by your arguments. It does not necessarily mean that
your arguments are faulty. It might just be that the others'
desires occasion a rejection of a conclusion that reason and
compassion may yet recommend to them at some future
time.
Dealing with Unsupportive People
Some people wrestle with friends or family being
unsupportive towards one's animal activism. Here are some
relevant considerations:
- A friendly way to respond to your beliefs about animals
would be to be supportive, curious, polite, and perhaps
inquiring, not ridiculing, insulting, dismissive, negative,
rude, or disdainfully uninterested, or typecasting you with
crude stereotypes such as the idea that animal liberationists
are "terrorists" or "irrational."
- It is important to distinguish between ways these others
are good towards oneself, and ways in which they create
difficulty. Nobody is all-bad or all-good. Nobody is
perfect.
- Do not hesitate to be assertive, stating how you feel due
to their lack of support. No one can argue with how you feel.
You can ask someone who is hurtful, as many times as you
need, "Do you mean to hurt my feelings?" Chances are they
will cease, desist, and back off.
- If a friend is totally unsupportive of one's choices by
being ridiculing or insulting, how good a friend is that
person?
- If someone you know is being defensive, that might say
more about them than about you. They might feel guilty at
some level and are trying desperately to salvage their
self-esteem. Their batting away animal protectionist
arguments might be more of this nature, and out of an
interest in retaining old habits, than any hostility towards
oneself as a "bad person" etc. It is easy to take others
being frustrated or offended personally when that is not what
is going on at all. Some people see disputes as open combat
which they must "win" and you must "lose" rather than as an
opportunity for everyone to learn something.
- If you experience a lack of friendly attitudes towards
your stance against cruelty to animals, self-activism once
again enters the situation. Be a friend to yourself by
using positive self-talk (you need not voice this aloud!),
such as: "I am holding to my convictions and I can take a
measure of dignity in that position." "I am choosing to act
on my belief that human beings should be just, compassionate,
and positive towards others." "I'm doing a good job of
actively seeking to choose in ways that do not promote
cruelty."
- Sometimes friends or relatives get insulted if you refuse
animal flesh offerings or other animal products. They may
feel insulted, but you are not insulting them. You are just
affirming your own beliefs and not necessarily commenting on
their beliefs or actions by refusing animal products for
yourself. You are not putting them down at all if you are
willing to abide with them politely while they consume animal
products. Rather, in this situation, they are negating your
choices and you are not negating theirs. Thus, they are the
ones being unfriendly or disrespectful. They might try to
make you feel guilty that you are ungrateful or
unappreciative to refuse the "hospitality" that they offer.
However, in refusing products associated with cruelty and
hoping for meals or offerings that respect your choices, you
are not negating true hospitality. Rather, by not
accommodating you, your hosts are being inhospitable, and you
do not need to be grateful for that aspect of their
treatment, nor feel guilty that you do not conform to the
demands of their inhospitality. Just as they should respect
others' physical allergies, so should they respect others'
"moral allergies."
- You can always find friendly people - or even
potentially dear friends - in animal activist groups, either
in person or over the internet.
Private activism can be even more potent than public
activism. For example, if private activism plays a role in
causing someone to surrender corpse-eating, then that may mean
a lot more in the world than someone reading a fleeting placard
at a public protest. However, this is not a contest: legal
change is also one of the most potentially potent forms of
social change. Indeed, all forms of social change ideally work
in concert rather than pitted against one another.
Public Activism
The goal of public activism is to help transform
consciousness and behaviours in a way that is more compatible
with what one perceives as best for animals. I have discussed
mainly private activism since these are the forms that are most
underdiscussed. Here are some examples of public activism:
- Consumer boycotts. People understandably bemoan
capitalism and how the profit-motive undercuts caring for
others in terms of social justice and the environment.
However, the logic of capitalism can be socially useful.
Since it relies on supply and demand, boycotts can be
effective in getting companies to stop making certain
products or to modify their products so that they are more in
keeping with anti-cruelty and social justice concerns.
- Look up a local activist group and decide on collective
actions together.
- Write letters to the editors of periodicals. You may well
get published.
- Write opinion/editorial pieces, e.g., for
newspapers.
- Demonstrations. These may gather media attention, help to
educate passersby, and give a clear message to the one(s)
being protested that their behaviour is being
challenged.
- Staged dialogues, e.g., on a crowded subway can educate
many people around you. This is an effective form of street
theatre, although many will not realize it is just that!
- Strategically placed literature, e.g., in doctors'
offices or on subways. It is useful to pass on literature you
have finished to other people rather than tossing it in the
waste basket.
- Hold film nights to educate others.
- Promote alternative, activist-friendly arts, literature,
and music both to enjoy your world view and to reinforce your
aspirations.
- Be a "financial activist" by donating to groups in need
of funds to carry out their public campaigns.
- Do information tabling at malls or concerts.
- Do presentations and announcements in your classes.
- Attend animal conferences to learn more and develop your
activism.
Now that we have discussed effective activism in general,
both in the private and public spheres, let's consider the
three forms of specific animal protectionist activism.
Traditional Animal Welfare Activism
Here are some effective things you can do to promote
traditional animal welfare:
- Find out who your federal member of Parliament (MP) is
and inquire about any animal welfare issue that you please.
He/she is legally obliged to reply and can get into trouble
if that duty is shirked. You do not even need postage to mail
your MP a letter and look forward to a reply! To find out who
your MP is, go to:
http://www.parl.gc.ca/common/index.asp?Language=E
For correct forms of address for various members of your
Canadian government:
http://www.pch.gc.ca/progs/cpsc-ccsp/pe/address2_e.cfm
- Get involved with anti-cruelty legislation in Canada. The
website of the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies
contains information on why the old 1892 aspects of the
Canadian Criminal Code are so inadequate. The currently
proposed Bill S-203 (a Senate bill) basically only increases
fines, unlike Bill C-373 ("C" as in House of Commons). Bill
S-203 might be passed as it already has been read in the
House of Commons, unless the public can convince the
legislature otherwise. It is not too late. What C-373 would
do to improve matters: (a) does not require proving willful
intent, as it is often impossible to prove a mental state and
causes many cases to be thrown out of court; (b) prohibits
killing animals without a lawful excuse; (c) protects all
vertebrates equally, whether dog, cattle or other; (d)
defines "animal" as sentient beings; (e) recognize animals as
sentient rather than just as property; (f) makes it an
offense to train animals for fighting. Tell MPs under
pressure from animal industry lobbyists that traditional
animal usage will no more be affected than under previous
legislation. An earlier version of C-373 was approved by 85%
of Canadians polled and unanimously in the House of Commons,
only to be defeated by the unelected Senate. Tell your MP
they need to get on board with democracy in this matter.
- Take a stand against factory farming. See http://www.humanefood.ca. I do
not agree that eliminating factory farming would make eating
animals "humane," but I agree with the goal of elminating
factory farming, and I think that concrete outcome means a
lot more to the animals than disputing over the words. Also,
I recognize the intent to make things relatively more humane,
even if not absolutely humane. Boycotting factory
farming can have an effect, and at least cutting down on meat
consumption is better for your health and the environment (I
will soon list the relevant benefits). Humanists (those who
put humans over and above others in their ethics) still have
important health and environmental reasons to at least cut
down on meat consumption (see below).
- Adopt an animal from a local shelter or pound. An
argument can be made against buying from breeders since they
are bringing more and more animals into the world when there
are already literally millions of animals being killed due to
overpopulation of animals.
- Join your local Humane Society or Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and get involved in humane
advocacy. You can help walk dogs at shelters, educate
children, help adopt out animals to responsible homes, and
much more.
- Provide a good role model for children. Challenge them
any time they show tendencies towards cruelty to animals.
This can go a long way in their social development.
Partial Abolitionism
Why people go further than traditional animal welfare and
wish to wipe out certain animal usages: There are many
possible reasons or combinations of them in a pluralistic
society. However, in general, many people concerned with
cruelty to animals see many practices as involving great
suffering and possibly death for animals, with only trivial or
at least minor benefits to human beings. For example, trapping
animals for fur, or raising them on fur-farms, involves
enormous amounts of suffering and death, but benefits - e.g.,
profiteering, winter clothing, and "fashionableness" - that can
be easily had through more benign means.
Examples of partial abolitionism include banning animal
fighting and animal sacrifice. You can find out about different
activities of these sorts via internet searches. People for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals has many sources of information on
practices that many people favor banning, such as, again, sport
hunting, testing cosmetics on animals, rodeos, animal circuses,
marine mammal aquaria, the veal crate, foie gras, wearing fur,
among other practices. The above discussions of how to be an
activist in general apply to this category as well as the
next.
Total Abolitionism
Equip Yourself to Respond
You can quickly educate yourself on common objections and
replies in relation to animal liberation. This is currently a
minority position in society, and people often have questions.
However, you might be surprised at how simple and easy it is to
come up with plausible replies to these inquiries. There are 3
sources listed here to help you in this regard:
- David Sztybel, "Dances with Reason: Responses to Common
Objections to Animal Rights."
http://sztybel.tripod.com/dances.html
- Tom Regan, "10 Reasons FOR Animal Rights and their
Explanation; 10 Reasons AGAINST Animal Rights and Their
Replies."
http://www.cultureandanimals.org/animalrights.htm
- The Animal Rights FAQ
http://animal-rights.com/
The "V" Word
Taking animal issues seriously means putting vegetarianism
in all of its forms on the table for thoughtful discussion.
Considering vegetarianism does not mean you have to dress up as
"Krisp E. Carrot" and prance around at a demonstration. It can
be a quiet form of private activism. Actually there is more
than one "V" word: there is veganism to consider as well, or
the avoidance of all animal products.
It is estimated that the average flesh-eater is responsible
for the slaughter of 22 warm-blooded animals per year and 1,500
in a lifetime. According to the Toronto Vegetarian Association,
the average flesh-eater results in a death toll of 984
chickens, 37 turkeys, 12 cows, 29 hogs, 2 sheep, and 910 pounds
of fishes.[3] Each individual vegetarian
does make a difference. If all the vegetarians in the world
suddenly decided to become meat-eaters the market could not
support the demand.
You can order PETA's totally free Vegetarian Starter Kit on the following site:
http://goveg.com/order.asp
Then there is the Physicians Committee for Responsible
Medicine (PCRM) free Vegetarian Starter
Kit (which emphasizes human health):
http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/vsk/
PETA has vegetarian recipes at:
http://vegcooking.com/
PETA's 30 reasons to go vegetarian:
http://goveg.com/feat/chewonthis/index.asp
Use an accredited list of animal ingredients in order to
avoid them in your foods and other consumer products:
http://www.vegfamily.com/lists/animal-ingredients.htm
Here are some considerations for vegetarian activism:
- Request vegetarian items at your grocery store; you may
just find these products suddenly appearing on the
shelves.
- Support vegetarian restaurants inasmuch as your budget,
time, and preferences permit; they at times go under due to
lack of clientele.
- Realize that you have a practically endless supply of
great recipes; the following link is to my favorite vegan
recipes:
http://sztybel.tripod.com/recipes.html
- Ensure that you are eating a healthy vegetarian diet. Eat
foods from the PCRM's new, vegan 4 food groups of fruit,
legumes, whole grains, and vegetables. See:
http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/vsk/food_groups.html
- Realize that vegans especially need to make sure that
they get enough vitamin B-12, because current ways of
processing foods tend to eliminate the bacteria that generate
B-12. That said, it is easy to get enough B-12 without
special measures, and the human system requires only minute
quantities of it that in fact are recycled over and over
again. Soy beverages such as Silk include doses of B-12.
- For those who like to read books on the subject, two
excellent books for covering your nutritional needs by
professional dietitians are Vesanto Melina and Brenda Davis,
Becoming Vegetarian: The Complete Guide to Adopting a Healthy
Vegetarian Diet (2003) and Davis and Melina, Becoming Vegan:
The Complete Guide to Adopting a Healthy Plant-Based Diet
(2004).
- Realize that corpse-eating has a tremendously negative
effect on the environment, since animal agriculture: (a) is
the #1 contributor to global warming (18% of total,
outweighing all combined forms of transport according to a
2006 UN report); (b) water pollution (more than 10x the water
pollution otherwise attributable to humans); (c) uses more
than half our fresh water; (d) uses 1/3 of all raw resources;
(e) uses the majority of arable land (e.g., 95% of oats are
grown for animal feed); (f) causes habitat loss and
species-extinctions from clearing grazing lands; (g) leading
source of topsoil depletion; (more than 75% of original U.S.
topsoil was gone by 1987; it takes 500 years to make an inch
of topsoil naturally); (h) much increased pesticides since so
many crops are grown for animal feed; and (i) doubles fossil
fuel consumption society-wide. It is not an exaggeration to
say that meat-eating might be the paramount
environmentally destructive factor. Therefore, it might not
even be possible to be a serious environmentalist as a
corpse-eater.
- Realize that scientific studies have shown corpse-eating
to be detrimental to human health in a variety of areas,
including but not limited to: arthritis, asthma, cancers,
constipation, diabetes (adult-onset type), gall stones, gout,
heart disease, hemorrhoids, hypertension, hypoglycemia,
kidney stones, multiple sclerosis, obesity, osteoporosis,
salmonellosis, strokes, and ulcers.[4]
- "Veganize" your cafeteria for your college, university or
residence with a simple step-by-step procedure:
http://www.peta2.com/college/cyc-veganize.asp
- One of the most effective forms of activism which groups
such as the Toronto Animal Rights Society have successfully
pioneered is showing videos of animal exploitation, such as
PETA's 12-minute short film, Meet Your Meat on the
streets using portable televisions and leaflets, and then
inviting people to regular vegan potlucks, each one featuring
an educational video or guest speaker. This is rather
expensive and requires considerable organization, but it
might nevertheless become standard in major urban centres as
time goes on.
Many animal liberationists see the logic of the partial
abolitionists - get rid of needless practices that are
extremely harmful to animals - as applying equally to
meat-eating. The main difference is that people are more
emotionally attached to the way they eat.
Anti-Vivisection
This is another die-hard cause that partial abolitionists
often cling to since not least of all they associate
vivisection with supposed medical breakthroughs for humans. You
can educate yourself on how vivisection is alleged to be
scientifically invalid since it is very difficult to
extrapolate from animal models of disease to humanity. PETA has
good information on these issues and so does the American
Anti-Vivisection Society, and it is easy to find their websites
by name.
Many people wish to avoid products tested on animals since
the "test subjects" are often force-fed until their intestines
rupture, rubbed until their skin is raw and bleeding, and
otherwise degraded to observe the effects of everyday products.
This form of harming animals does not teach much about toxicity
to human beings. Such commercial testing is mainly done for
companies to use in defence against possible lawsuits based on
product toxicity. Here is a list of companies that do
not test on animals:
http://www.caringconsumer.com/pdfs/companiesDontTest.doc
And here is a list of companies that do test on
animals:
http://www.caringconsumer.com/pdfs/companiesDoTest.doc
Finally, many people donate to charities that are sometimes
connected with medical research, not suspecting that what they
are funding are animals tests that are not only scientifically
questionable, but would be a violation of rights in the human
case (including if we are talking about mentally disabled
humans who sometimes have less cognitive capacities than test
animals).
So here is a list of charities that do and do not test on
animals, which you can search by country, and also type of
charity: (If you are put on the spot, tell the charity agent
that you will look up their organization up on the list before
you decide whether to donate.)
http://www.humaneseal.org/search.php
There is no end to the things you can do! People for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals has a tremendous assortment of
resources for activists, often providing free literature for
campus activists, for example.
You can order a free copy of PETA's guide to animal rights
activism called "Easy as Pie" at:
http://www.peta.org/ActionCenter/easyaspie_order.asp
As well, PETA offers a few guides on how to be an activist
in 5 minutes or less, and 15 minutes or less:
http://www.peta.org/actioncenter/getactive-5min.asp
[see under the heading, "Time to Get Active"]
Why Total Abolitionists Go as Far as They Do
Total abolitionists typically agree with a range of
commitments which help to account for the practical position
that they have adopted:
- A commitment to fairness in allocating benefits and
protections from harm; suffering for example is a
concern that applies to normal humans and the sorts of
animals reared for food. Animal liberationists often also
point out that although the #1 reason for counting animals
for less is their allegedly inferior cognitive capacities, we
would not treat mentally challenged humans (the comatose,
insane, senile, congenitally mentally challenged, stroke
victims, etc.) in the way that we treat animals by
experimenting on them, eating them, hunting them down, etc.
Justice requires that we treat like cases alike unless there
is a morally relevant difference between cases. And
hard-thinking animal liberationists the world over have not
been able to identify any morally relevant difference, any
more than there is between members of so-called "races."
- A commitment to non-violence
- A commitment to anti-slavery
- A commitment to choosing what is life-affirming rather
than death-affirming
- A commitment to abolishing all forms of oppression
including sexism, racism, and speciesism
- A commitment to not only refraining from active cruelty
(which is a common commitment since society outlaws animal
fighting), but also passive cruelty. Active cruelty seeks to
inflict suffering, usually because it affords sadistic
pleasure. Passive cruelty, as I define it, often means
indifference to the suffering of others. Such
indifference is sufficient to allow suffering to continue
that otherwise might not if people care enough to take
appropriate action.
- Identifying common animal uses as cases of "animal
illfare" rather than animal welfare" even when efforts
towards "humaneness" are made[5] and
being committed to never contributing to animal illfare if
that is possible
This list is merely suggestive. The philosophical waters we
have just gotten wet with run very deep indeed. In fact, deeper
thinking about the ideas may lead us to be critical of how we
commonly use language. Joan Dunayer, in her excellent book,
Animal Equality: Language and Liberation (2001),
provides many examples of animal liberationist uses of
language. For my own adaptation of her guide, please see:
http://sztybel.tripod.com/language.pdf.
Animal Rights and Welfare: Inspiring Achievements
I will include both a general list and a chronological
list:
General List
- 10% of Britons used to be vegetarian, which is impressive
enough, but now about 25% of them are vegetarian - the timing
of this social change suggests that it has something to do
with the "mad cow disease" scare there.
- the Eurobarometer Program sponsored a study administered
by International Research Associates in the fall of 1992, out
of a total European sample size of 13,024, with approximately
1,000 in-person interviews conducted in each nation. In
France, 68% of the population either strongly disagreed or
disagreed with the statement that animals should be used in
scientific research; over 50% of the population was similarly
opposed in West Germany, East Germany, Belgium, Italy, Great
Britain, Ireland, Denmark, and Spain. In North America less
than half the population disagrees with animals in research,
but the example of Europe shows that could very well
change6.
- Sweden banned the use of great apes and gibbons in
scientific research
- Great Britain outlawed using great apes in
experiments.
- The Baelearic Parliament for the Spanish Balearic Islands
supports the Great Ape Project, or humanlike rights to life,
liberty and freedom from torture for chimpanzees, gorillas
and orangutans.
- Vancouver's City Council in British Columbia, Canada is
the first in North America to ban rodeos.
- Richmond, British Columbia, Canada is the first city in
North America to ban all use of eggs from battery hens in all
city facilities; the city encourages residents to buy only
organic, free-range eggs.
- the Cloverdale Rodeo Association in British Columbia,
Canada bans roping at rodeos due to animal advocacy.
- Catalonia, Spain raised fines for cruelty to animals up
to $24,000 and bans the killing of abandoned dogs and cats in
shelters.
- a USA-wide survey of 100,000 college/university students
finds that nearly 25% of students said that finding vegan
meals on campus is important to them.
- Sweden banned the leg-hold trap and signaled its intent
to prohibit "fur farms".
- Tom Regan (his information is published in his 2003 book,
Animal Rights and Human Wrongs) notes that in the
mid-1980s, 17 million animals were trapped for fur in the
United States, by the early 1990s it was 10 million, and at
the time of his writing it was noted to be 4.5 million; caged
mink declined from 1,000 farms to over 400 farms in the same
period
- Regan in the same work reports that in 1988 there were
330,000 trappers, and by 1994 there were fewer than half that
number; in his 2003 writing he noted there were then about a
third of the first number.
- Regan notes also that 7 US States and 89 nations
worldwide have banned the leghold trap.
- Regan reports that Austria, England, Scotland, and Wales
have banned raising animals primarily for their fur.
- Regan observes that 14 million veal calves were
slaughtered in the US in 1945, compared to 800,000 at the
time of his writing in 2003.
- Regan recounts that per capita meat consumption in the US
is declining.
Chronological List
- 1981 People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
(PETA) does an undercover investigation of a Maryland
laboratory, resulting in the first-ever conviction of an
animal experimenter on charges of animal abuse and the
first-ever suspension of federal funds on the grounds of
cruelty.
- 1983 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada is the
first city in the world to declare an official Animal Rights
Day.
- 1983 PETA achieves a ban on using dogs and cats in
military "wound labs".
- 1984 a PETA expose at the University of
Pennsylvania puts a stop to funding 14 years of experiments
using baboons to study head injuries.
- 1985 PETA uncovers gross mistreatment of dogs and
other animals in the City of Hope laboratory in California,
and the government fines the lab $11,000 and suspends more
than $1,000,000 in federal funding to the lab.
- 1986 PETA stops total-isolation confinement of
chimps at SEMA laboratories.
- 1987 PETA's Don't Kill the Animals album
tops the dance charts in the US and Europe.
- 1988 Sweden passes an agricultural law providing
that farmed animals have the right to live their lives with
plenty of room, bedding, less stress, and toys, with a ban on
confinement of sows, foie gras, and battery cages for
hens.
- 1988 PETA's distribution of a video of an
operation on an improperly anesthetized dog at East Carolina
State University prompted the university to issue a
moratorium on the use of live animals.
- 1989 PETA's Compassion Campaign persuades Avon,
Benneton, Mary Kay, Amway, Kenner, Mattel, and Hasbro to stop
testing on animals.
- 1990 the city of Saanich, British Columbia is the
first jurisdiction in Canada to pass a bylaw banning exotic
animals from being used in circuses; now there are more than
30 such bylaws throughout the province.
- 1990 Estee Lauder is persuaded by PETA to stop
animal testing.
- 1992 the police conduct the first-ever raid on a
factory farm to investigate cruelty related to foie
gras.
- 1993 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada is the
first city in Canada to close down its zoo.
- 1993 Farm Sanctuary achieves first ever conviction
of a U.S. stockyard (where animals are kept before slaughter)
for mistreating a downed animal, after the prosecution of
Lancaster Stockyards in Pennsylvania.
- 1993 after a PETA campaign, GM, then the largest
corporation in the world, agrees to stop "crash-testing"
animals; today, no car companies do such tests anymore.
- 1993 PETA uncovers cruel experiments at Wright
State University; the university is charged with violating
the Animal Welfare Act, and the experiments are ended
- 1994 due to pressure from PETA, the US Department
of Agriculture bans face-branding of cattle, and spaying
cattle without anesthetics
- 1994 for the first time in the US, a chinchilla
farmer is charged with cruelty to animals after an undercover
PETA investigation revealed photographs of electrocuting
animals by the genitals.
- 1994 PETA opens branches in the UK, Netherlands,
and Germany.
- 1995 Farm Sanctuary helps pass a law in California
which prevents dragging, pushing, holding, or selling downed
animals at stockyards and slaughterhouses. Other states
follow California, passing similar laws.
- 1995 Mobil, Shell, Texaco, and other oil companies
agree to cap their stacks after PETA found that many birds
needlessly die in these smokestacks.
- 1995 the US government files 41 charges against a
breeding company for pharmaceutical testing, Hazelton
Research Products in Michigan, after an undercover PETA
investigation revealed that the researchers beat the animals,
sometimes to death.
- 1996 due to PETA's campaign against using pregnant
mares' urine for women in menopause, Wyerth-Ayerst lost more
than $73 million in sales.
- 1996 PETA blows the whistle on Bion, a
US/Russia/France program sending monkeys into space with
implanted electrodes, in strait jackets; the US government
closes down the program.
- 1996 PETA finds that $3 million in US tax money
was granted to experimenters at Omaha's Boy's Town National
Research Hospital to cut into kittens' heads and starve cats
for deafness and vocal tract experiments; the government
investigates and as a result the firm closes down the
experiments.
- 1997 PETA investigates a lab about to break dogs'
legs in an experiment; actress Kim Basinger speaks out about
it; instead the dogs are released to be adopted.
- 1997 an Illinois fur farmer pleads guilty to
cruelty to animals for the anal electrocution of foxes.
- 1998 PETA President Ingrid Newkirk visits Taiwan
and documents how filthy pounds kill animals by starvation,
electrocution, drowning, and beating; as a result, Taiwan
passes its first law against cruelty to animals.
- 1999 New Zealand bans vivisection of great
apes.
- 1999 PETA sees that Belcross Farm in North
Carolina is indicted with felony charges of cruelty to
animals, namely pigs, due to undercover footage.
- 2000 PETA gets McDonald's to ban de-beaking and
force-molting (starving hens) and to institute unannounced
slaughterhouse inspections.
- 2000 PETA gets a Michigan puppy mill shut down and
the owner is banned from owning or breeding animals.
- 2001 Burger King agrees, due to pressure from
PETA, to give hens 75 square inches in cages.
- 2002 The Dutch ban biomedical research on
chimpanzees.
- 2002 In response to Matthew Scully's book,
Dominion, the cruel confining of pregnant pigs is
banned in Florida.
- 2002 Germany votes animal rights into its
Constitution; the state added "and animals" to a statement
obliging Germany to respect and protect the dignity of human
beings.
- 2002 PETA helps activists ban animal circus acts
in Costa Rica; Windsor, Canada; Greenburgh, New York; Bogata,
Colombia; Sao Leopoldo, Brazil; Orange City, North Carolina;
and Pasadena and Rohnert Park, California.
- 2002 PETA persuades 40 companies, including Nike
and Reebok, not to purchase leather from India, where animals
are skinned alive among other atrocities, and this results in
$40 million loss of revenue for those animal abusers.
- 2002 Thanks to PETA, Safeway is the first-ever
supermarket to improve factory farming conditions, with
unannounced slaughterhouse inspections and more space for
laying hens; this is followed suit by Albertson's and
Kroger.
- 2003 The European Union bans cosmetics testing on
animals.
- 2003 a poll by Associated Press and the Los
Angeles Times found that 72% of respondents said it is
sometimes wrong to use animals in research, and 29% said it
is always wrong; 2/3 of adult Americans agree that "an
animal's right to live free from suffering should be just as
important as a person's.".
- 2003 PETA exposes stroke tests at Columbia
University as cruel and pointless; the tests are
canceled.
- 2004 The Detroit Zoo is the first US zoo to give
away the elephants there to a refuge solely on ethical
grounds; these animals had been previously confined in the
zoo for 22 years.
- 2004 Farm Sanctuary is invited to speak about
animal rights at the United States Department of Agriculture,
the first event of its kind.
- 2004 Austria passes laws banning battery cages for
hens, exotic animal circus acts, ear-cropping and
tail-docking of dogs, and showcasing puppies and kittens in
often sweltering shop windows; Austria institutes fines of
over $18,000 plus seizure of animals in cases of extreme
cruelty; an Animal Rights Ombudsperson is established to
oversee the treatment of animals in farms, zoos, circuses,
and petshops; bans cockfighting; makes animal torture
punishable with 2 years in jail - these pionerring measures
were unanimously approved by Austria's parliament.
- 2004 city of Santa Ana, California bans animal
circus acts.
- 2004 Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger of California
bans foie gras.
- 2004 PETA persuades the Environmental Protection
Agency and certain chemical companies not to do chemical
tests, sparing the lives of tens of thousands of
animals.
- 2005 Israel bans foie gras although they were the
fourth largest producer in the world.
- 2011 West Hollywood becomes the first city in the
U.S. to ban fur being sold as part of any garment
whatsoever.
- 2005 Mercedes-Benz bows to PETA pressure to
provide a leather-free option for cars; it takes 4 cows to
make on leather interior for Mercedes.
- 2005 PETA causes officials in Durham, North
Carolina to halt plans to kill a family of beavers who dammed
a road culvert; the city agrees to develop a humane
solution.
- 2005 a Virginia hoarder of animals is banned for
life from owning animals thanks to PETA.
- 2006 Arizona becomes the first place in North
America to ban the veal crate, and the second place in North
America to ban confining pregnant pigs.
- 2007 the European Parliament commits itself to
ending experiments on primates throughout the European
Union.
- 2008 a Dutch Party for the Animals becomes the
fastest-growing political party in the Netherlands, having
earned 2 seats in the House of Representatives, 1 seat in the
Senate, and 9 seats in the Provincial States parliament.
- 2008 Los Angeles passes mandatory spay-and-neuter
legislation.
- 2011 Israel bans manufacturing and importing of
fur except for religious purposes
- 2012 Dolphin captivity banned in Switzerland.
- 2013 Great Britain bans wild animal circus
acts.
- 2013 Flushing P.S. in New York City has the first
public school cafeteria to go all-vegetarian in the United
States, citing health benefits.
- 2013 India has pre-emptively banned captive dolphin facilities naming
cetaceans "nonhuman person"
Conclusion
I am not teaching people at Brock University what to do, but
what one might do, and perhaps what you should strongly
consider doing if you embrace a certain social-ethical position
regarding animals. You do not have to be special or a "hero" to
take action, but just an ordinary person taking account of
information that should not be extraordinary to obtain, but
often is due to repressive social forces. Animal rights is
often associated in the public's mind with atrocity images of
animal mistreatment. However, those are images of what
rejecting animal rights looks like. Animal liberation is
taking action towards the upliftment of any and all beings who
find their lives to be significant.
Endnotes
1. A phrase used in M.
Michael, "Lay discourses of science: Science-in-general,
science-in-particular and self." Science,
Technology and Human Values 17 (1992): 313-333; cited in
Lynda Birke, Arnold Arluke, and Mike Michael, The Sacrifice: How Scientific Experiments Transform
Animals and People (West Lafayette, Indiana: Purdue
University Press, 2007), p. 116.
2. For one of the greatest
speeches I have ever heard, and I was excited to hear the
original in Washington, D.C. at an animal rights activism
conference, see Karen Davis, Ph.D., "The Rhetoric of Apology in
Animal Rights: Some Points to Consider." Speech July 10, 1994
at the Seventh Annual International Animal Rights Symposium,
July 8 through July 10, 1994, Washington Dulles Marriott. To
read this speech, visit: http://www.upc-online.org/summer94/rhetoric_of_apology.html.
3. The term "fishes" is used
by some animal liberationists rather than "fish" since the
latter term does not dignify these aquatic animals as
individuals. Unfortunately, neither does weighing fish
consumption by the pound, but that is the figure gien by the
TVA.
4. For information about
vegetarianism/veganism in relation to health and the
environment, see generally John Robbins, Diet
for a New America (Walpole: Stillpoint, 1987). Even the
American Dietetic Association (ADA), a very conservative
organization, recognizes the many advantages of vegetarianism
in avoiding a variety of degenerative diseases. See the ADA
report at http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/adapaper.htm.
5. The "animal illfare" label
was introduced in David Sztybel, "The Rights of Animal
Persons," Journal for Critical Animal
Studies 4 (1) (2006): 1-37; 3-6. This article summarizes
my reasons for concluding that the traditional "animal welfare
versus animal liberation" debate is perhaps best recast as an
"animal illfare versus animal liberation" debate. For a
summation of the animal illfare label and the Levels of Harmful
Discrimination upon which it is based, see http://sztybel.tripod.com/levels.pdf.
6. L. Pifer, K. Shimizu and
R. Pifer, "Public attitudes towards animal research: some
international comparisons," Society and
Animals: Journal of Human-Animal Studies 2 (2) (1994).
See http://www.psyeta.org,
the website of Psychologists for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals.