Power Point presentation given during Vegan Information Project's "mini-course," Social Movements with Case Studies about Animal Advocacy which runs into 2014 after beginning during World Vegan Month (November) 2013

1. The Social MovementCountermovement
Dialectic (Revisited).
Roger Yates.
1

2. 
: “An organised effort by a significant number of
people to change (or resist change in) some
major aspect of society” (Marshall 1994: 489).
2

3. 
Goode, E. (1992) Collective Behaviour, Florida: HBJ.

Lilliston, B. & Cummins, R. (1997). The food slander
laws in the U.S.: The criminalization of dissent. The
Ecologist, 27(6), 216-220.

Mottl, T. L. (1980). ‘The analysis of
countermovements’, Social Problems, 27(5), 620-634.

Munro, L. (1999) ‘Contesting Moral Capital in
Campaigns Against Animal Liberation’, Society &
Animals Journal of Human-Animal Studies, Volume 7,
Number 1.
3

4. Not surprisingly, those involved in social
movement activity take a great deal of notice of
what their countermovements are saying and
how the ‘battle of ideas’ is playing out in the
mass media.


‘Animal_Rights_Debate’
4

5. issues…
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‘animal rights’
‘animal welfare’
the status of philosopher Peter Singer
the idea that ‘animal rights’ is an extremist philosophy
that promotes violence and terrorism
5

6.  Regan, T. (2004)
Empty Cages:
Facing the challenge of animal rights,
Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield
animal rights advocates (‘ARAs’)
 “major animal user industries”

6

7. 
“[i]f the public’s perception of using animals in
research could be structured as a contest
between know-nothing animal rights extremists
who hate humans and have an insatiable appetite
for violence, on the one hand, and wise scientific
animal welfare moderates, true friends of
humanity, on the other, ARAs would be
repudiated and the ideology of humane,
responsible use would prevail” (2004: 12).
7

8. 
Regan claims that, since 1989: “a steady stream
of press releases. Memos, e-mail messages, press
conferences, and website miscellany, denouncing
ARA extremists and lauding reasonable animal
welfarists, has flowed from the AMA’s and other
biomedical research industry’s public relations
offices straight into the hands of reporters, news
directors, and editors” (2004: 12).
8

9. 
The majority of Americans support animal
welfare groups, but do NOT support [any] outof-touch-with-reality, publicity-hungry animal
rights groups… Animal welfare groups support
humane treatment and responsible care of
animals while the animal rights philosophy not
only condemns the use of all animals for any
purpose but also is known for its increasingly
terroristic tactics. The current mind-set of the
animal rights movement is, “Believe what I
believe…or else” (cited in Regan 2004: 15).
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10. 


Lord Donoughue
“This is just half to two thirds of the way through the
next Parliament and it is by then that the animal
terrorists will have mounted a major campaign to get
back-bench support and will have someone to bring a
Private Members Bill into the House”.
Lord Donoughue claimed he calls lobbyists “animal
terrorists” because their aim is “to destroy the
countryside as we know it”.
10

11. 
Prof Colin Blakemore: “If you are willing to talk about
this issue publically, they will kill you”

He fears that the terror tactics will quash debate and
senses that the government may already be softening its
stance in favour of animal rights protestors.

Dr Mark Matfield, Research Defence Society.
11

12. Norma Bennett Woolf
National Animal Interest Alliance

mission statement

“Our mission is to promote a more
abundant life for all the people of this
planet through a wise and compassionate
human relationship with animals and the
environment”
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13. 



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Recognize that human - animal interactions take many
forms;
Host conferences to highlight topical issues, expose
animal rights and environmental extremism and share
animal welfare efforts and successes;
Support the victims of animal and environmental
extremism;
Counter the rhetoric of the animal rights movement;
Support the wise and thoughtful use of natural
resources
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14. 
Provide this website to alert animal owners and
others about the differences between animal
rights and animal welfare and the battle for
reasonable laws, regulations, and guidelines
affecting animal treatment, use and ownership.

(http://www.naiaonline.org/body/about_naia.htm)
14

15. 
ARD message 30336, “Norma Bennett Woolf” to “Jim”: AW and AR
are not on the same scale. AW is an animal use philosophy; AR is
a no-use philosophy. The twain doesn’t meet no matter how
deep your belief that it does. NAIA falls into the same category
of AW support as AVMA [American Veterinary Medical
Association], various specialty veterinary groups, AKC
[American Kennel Club], groups specializing in research animal
care, many humane societies, etc., etc., i.e., we support animal
use; believe that those who own and interact with animals tend
to be experts in their care and training; and work hard to make
and support improvements where improvements are
necessary…. The goal of AR is to end animal use (no
instrumental control, remember?) and the goal of AW is to give
animals a decent life and a quick death while we benefit from
their presence in our lives. These are two completely
incompatible sets of goals.
15

16. 

ARD message 16978, “Kathy”: Well, if hanging a dead
animal should be a crime, why shouldn’t distributing
literature (known to be filled with inflammatory
statements) to children be considered a terrorist crime?
It’s meant to be used to terrorize children into changing
their lifestyles. You can hand out anything you want to
adults, but NOT children and certainly not MY
children.
ARD message 19715, “Norma Bennett Woolf”: I don’t care
if you or anyone else believes that animals have rights, I
care only if those who believe try to push their opinion
on the rest of us via laws, regulations, indoctrination of
kids, or terrorist tactics.
16

17. 
* unite all farm organisations into a coalition
committed to continued well-being and safe treatment
of farm animals;

* study public opinion, attitudes, and knowledge about
farm practices and modern farm technology; and

* educate the consumer, public officials, media, and
other audiences about the farmers’ essential concern
for the well-being of their animals and the production
of safe, low-cost food (quoted in Guither 1998: 133).

Guither, H. D. (1998) Animal Rights: History and scope of a radical social movement,
Carbondale & Edwardsville: Southern Illinous University Press.
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18. 


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
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continuing to monitor the direction of the animal rights
movement…;
establishing an effective system of monitoring state legislative
and legal action;
monitoring all studies on animal stress and advising members on
implications for farming practices related to animal rights issues;
developing positive themes to neutralise what coalition members
see as irresponsible attacks on animal farming practices by animal
rights groups;
maintaining communications with other animal-rearing or user
groups, particularly those concerned with laboratory animals;
preparing their organisations to deal effectively with the
challenge of the animal rights movement…, and
researching the attitudes and knowledge level about animal rights
issues prevailing in the wider circle of agribusiness.
18

19. 
ARD message 39724, “bint”: We do spend a great
deal of time talking about AR terrorism but
that’s just the way the world works. No one
needs to be worried about the ARAs who just
go about their life being vegans and trying to
convince their friends to do the same.

ARD message 34660, “Lisa”: PS- The reason I
post articles that refer to violent ARA’s is due to
them being in the news
19

20. 
ARD message 36475, “Norma Bennett Woolf” to “Jim”: “It
is “reactionary” to speak out against violence? To
consider that ELF, ALF, etc. are domestic terrorists?”
“Jim” in reply: Norma--WHAT a hugely stupid question!
*I* (as well as Rags and Pro B) have spoken
REPEATEDLY against such violence!... However
what YOU do--Ms. Propagandist—isn’t to simply
“speak out” against the violence. What YOU do-- is to
repeatedly refer to the violence for the purposes of
casting prejudice against the whole of the rights
movement. THAT is quite dishonest--Norma!
20

21. 
ARD message 28273, “Jim” to “Lisa”: Can’t you
just disagree (about rights) without saying
something so off the edge as implying I’m
supporting TERRORISM? Surely YOU know
better by now.
21

22. 
ARD message 15868, “Peachybean” to “Norma”: I
have never bombed, threatened, committed
arson, etc. I work at a public aquarium, I eat
meat, I don’t want to end pet breeding, etc. Just
want to see the animals and consumers
protected. And I am considered an AR by you
and I am grouped in the same “terrorist”
category you give.
22

23. 

ARD message 8800, “Aimee” to “Lisa”: You’ve
said this once before, in your fight to make AR
look like a bunch of terrorists, so I will explain
again….
ARD message 15817, “Jim”: Norma--are we going
to talk about ideas OR are you just going to keep
ranting about how bad and terroristic some AR’s
are?
23

24. 
ARD message 8919, “Balddog”: Animal welfarists
are not what we are calling terrorists. Animal
rights activists, animal liberators, and their
supporters... THOSE I call terrorists.

ARD message 16165, “Randolph Critzer”: Same
folks defending ar terrorism and chicken rights!
24

25. 
ARD message 17207, “Kathy”: the AR movement
SUPPORTS VIOLENCE in seeking its goals.
Oh, not every individual does. But PeTA is the
largest AR organization and they PAY MONEY
to CONVICTED CRIMINALS. They support
VLASAK who calls for assassination. They pay a
SALARY to men who advocate TERROR-ISM.
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26. 


Benton, T. & Redfearn, S. (1996) ‘The Politics
of Animal Rights - Where is the Left?’ New Left
Review, Jan/Feb: 43-58.
Garner, R. (1993) Animals, Politics and Morality,
Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Singer, P. (1983) Animal Liberation: Towards an end
to Man’s inhumanity to animals, Wellingborough:
Thorsons.
26

27. 

ARD message 37880, “KC” writes: It
[interspecies sexual assault] does sicken me almost as much as child molestation or
pedophilia… But of course with someone of
Peter Singer’s stature recommending it, who
knows anymore.
ARD message 36245, “Lisa”: Singer’s view of
bestiality disgusts me I will say.
27

28. 
ARD message 18431, “Kim” cites an article by Daniel
J Flynn in which the author writes: “Is the selfrighteousness of animal rights activists, or their
tactics, at all surprising given the popularity of
Singer’s writings? Singer has even coined a term
—speciesists—to place the fight for animal
rights on the same plane as the fight against
racism and sexism
28

29. 
“Pro.B”: “Singer believes, for example, that one animal
might be replaced with another animal. If the
replacement has an equally pleasant or more pleasant
life than the original had, then the death of the first
does not necessitate ethical concern.”
“KC”: “I thought Singer wasn’t an AR advocate? You
guys want it both ways, eh?”
“Pro.B”: No, I don’t want it both ways. NB: 1. I do not
agree with Singer. 2. Singer is not a rights advocate, but
a utilitarian philosopher
29

30.  ARD message 28678, “KC”:
Okay, let
me see if I have this right. Peter Singer
says he is NOT an ARA so that means
he’s not.
30

31. 
ARD message 19049, “bint”: Just because Garner[1]
believes that Singer is not an advocate of rights
doesn’t mean that this belief should be “clear”
to anyone else.

[1] This is a response to the following point revealing that Garner was stating
what Singer had said about his utilitarian philosophical position: “In 1993,
political scientist Robert Garner published a book called Animals Politics and
Morality. On page 27, Garner writes, ‘Singer is clear...that he is not an
advocate of rights.’”
31

32. 
“bint”: “It isn’t the AW advocates that call
Singer the Father of the AR movement. It is
those who are within the AR movement who are
responsible for that” (ARD 27802)
32

33.  Guither (1998: 132) states: “Through
educational efforts with their members
and to the general public through the
media, they are challenging and
attempting to discredit the animal
rights doctrines and beliefs”.
33