How often do we, as humans, overlook the treatment of the animals that we tend to deem ‘man’s best-friend’? Do we truly care for their well being if we do not come face-to-face with the realization of the large impact we have on these very animals? It’s true that the fact is, “the vast majority of people eat meat and they eat animal products […] We can reduce it or we can make those animal products from some other more humane system” (Capretto). Numerous organizations throughout the United States follow the ideals of that of the Animal Rights Movement. The Animal Rights Movement, by definition, is a “social movement in which seeks an end to the rigid moral and legal distinction drawn between human and non-human animals, an end to the status of animals as property, and an end to their use in the research, food, clothing, and entertainment industries” (“Animal Rights Movement”). This movement is simply a branch off of the ideals first demonstrated by those of numerous philosophers such as Peter Singer and Henry Salt, for example. Singer is credited in being one of the first sources referencing animal rights through his book, Animal Liberation. (Kopnina 335) The movement took shape in social reform through the work of Henry Salt, who tended to the activist movement in dedicating his life to minimizing the amount of suffering induced to animals by human interaction by promoting alternative lifestyles such as vegetarianism (Davis). Recently, Animal Rights advocates have carried on these practices but have also brought to light new issues such as creating and developing foster shelters or neutering animals to handle the population of the untreated; moreover, the range of what constitutes AA is debated, whether it includes animal rights itself, or the simple act of caring for another aspect of life. Through both international and local groups, the animal rights movement thrives. Each and every group is unique in the way they carry themselves as they each work under the animal rights movement yet work to achieve a specific goal under this large umbrella of ideals.
The Animal Rights movement exists through many-sided views and thrives through these organizations, both nationally and locally. PETA and Gainesville Pet Rescue are a few of the numerous groups around the world that shape the Animal Rights Movement into what it is today. The first group I observed, PETA, is a national group which advocates the beliefs of the animal rights movement in providing the framework of an organization that would soon improve the lives of the many neglected, malnourished stray animals that suffer from animal cruelty. Whilst the second local organization I observed, Gainesville Pet Rescue, exists to “Save the lives of unwanted animals and promote responsible pet ownership through adoptions spay/neuter and education” (Gainesville Pet Rescue). These groups affirm the fact that the Animal Rights Movement is multi-faceted, as separate branches of one main organization serve a different purpose. These groups are indeed, effective in their approach to spread animal rights awareness through both their physical on-the-ground presence, as well as online through several social media platforms.
I sought out to derive the true meaning of the animal rights movement itself and analyze the aspects of it in which deem it a successful and thriving movement by asking both myself and those within the organization, can I in any way aid these organizations in bettering society, and do they hold true, and follow through, to their ideals? The movement is embodied through not only social media platforms and accounts, but in person through volunteer-based organizations, organized events, and protests/debates. I immersed myself within the movement not only by following the national -PETA- and local organization’s online social media presence, but having directly volunteered at the shelter at the local organization, Gainesville Pet Rescue. I had gotten a direct feel for how an Animal Rights organization actually works and how effective they are in expressing their values. When entering the shelter, I went in with an open mind and let the volunteer work lead my in the direction of my argument on the organization. A couple questions I kept in mind to test whether or not this organization is effective or active in the animal rights movement was to interview employees or volunteers with numerous simple questions about how they operate. The questions I asked were formed after taking into account the amount of animals they take into their shelter, the ways in which they treat these animals, in addition to how many volunteers they have working hands on with these animals as well as the amount of foster families that are successful through their shelter. In addition, I examined how effective their social media is in interacting with the public and how much engagement they have with community around them. This is simply done by accessing the activity of post outreach. In addition, I took the time to observe the online presence of this movement despite primary social media account, and more towards the ways in which other individuals are interacting with the debate of this morals within this movement. By addressing each and every side of the animal rights movement debatable along with my personal hands-on experience, I plan to analyze the movement in its entity alongside its successes.
Observing both a national and local Animal Rights group first-hand aided me in a deeper understanding of the movement, what it entailed, and how each group tackles spreading awareness amongst the masses. The group I found extremely intriguing through social media platforms was PETA. PETA has achieved its prevalent image in society through consistently reaching their goals; achieved by none other than their successful persuasive tactics in creating a front that leads the audience to believe they are proactive with their mission in spreading the animal rights movement message as far as possible. After thorough observation, I have come to the conclusion that this organization does so in heavily relying on media coverage -and will do the extraordinary in order to initiate action throughout the human population; questioning the status quo, sparking discussion and debate. The following advertisements speak volumes to PETA’s controversial tactics.
Upon analyzing PETA’s advertisements, it is clear that their mission in spreading awareness is successful in heavily implementing rhetoric. By using grabbing headlines as well as grabbing images -such as nudity- PETA stands by the belief that we as humans have the capability to use our bodies to make political statements, such as both Pamela Anderson and Ron Jeremy. By addressing topics in which people are uneasy discussing, they are almost forced to face the fact and talk about these issues. PETA also utilizes attention-grabbing actions such as videos. As the article Outrageous New PETA Ad Compares Cows With Rape Victims states, “Every year, billions of animals are born into the meat, egg and dairy industries. Almost all of them are a result of forcible artificial insemination. Almost all of them are a result of rape. Don’t participate, go vegan” (Shapiro). The ad uses pathos in using disturbing emotional connections which quickly spark outrage through social media platforms, such as twitter. Numerous twitter users fired back claiming “This is awful, and insensitive. You continue to spit in the faces of marginalized and victimized groups to push your message” (@bastylefilegirl), “As if rape/sexual assault victims haven't been dehumanized enough, PETA go and compare them to animals” (@StephMarchand). PETA is extremely effective in their tactics of creating conversation, as they are most commonly known for their offensive advertising.
While PETA representative Ingrid Newkirk argues “At Peta, we completely understand the appeal of battle cries such as "Not bigger cages − empty cages!" But giving a little comfort and stimulation for animals who will be in those cages their whole lives is worth fighting for” (Newkirk), author Douglas Anthony Cooper quickly undermines her argument in claiming that Animal Rights organizations, such as PETA, are hypocritical in the sense that they are taking the lives of the poor animals they ‘claim’ to care for. Cooper’s idea of hypocritical animal abuse is exemplified when he mentions that “companies like so are coldhearted in the fact that they did not think twice in killing this one nearly-blind, incontinent dog of a man whose sole crime in this world is that he puts all of his time towards ending the yearly slaughter of three millions shelter animals” (Cooper). This reinforces arguments about national animal rights organization, PETA, yet opposes those of local animal rights group, Gainesville Pet Rescue. Gainesville Pet Rescue, on the other hand, uses their social media platforms in the friendliest and most attractable manner as possible. Take a glance at their website as well as their facebook. Immediately the audience is drawn to the pathos within the website that retrieves a sympathetic feeling as images of adorable dogs and cats cuddled in the arms of adopted and foster parents fill the screen. Both PETA and Gainesville Pet Rescue act on emotion as they persuade the individual that by quickly donating, coming in to volunteer, or adopting an innocent animal, they too have the power to stop the problem that is animal cruelty. In addition to images, the Gainesville Pet Rescue social media focuses on details such as color choice to make serious matters seem light. They combine hues of gator colors -orange and blue- to not only come across as welcoming but to attract students, their main target in aiming to gain volunteers and foster parents. Contrastingly, they use a font that is bubbly yet professional enough to portray their seriousness about the cause. This welcoming appeal is not only evident online, but in person as well. Entering the Gainesville Pet Rescue building was like a breath of fresh air. Immediately, my friend and I were greeted by the barks of the animals, happy to see another face, as well as the smiles of the women behind the front desk. It is clear that they chose the building with a home-like feel to it, full of bright colored walls and playful decorations. To my right lie kittens and to my left lie rows of dogs, each lined up with attractive nametags that displayed their information as well as a playful image of the animal to help give viewers a better feel for who the animal is. Volunteer director, Rachel Mead, encouraged us to “take of the animals when we have the chance to capture them at their best moment in order to maximize their chances of being adopted” (Nikolette K). As we walked through the purple colored hallways, as seen below,
Rachel continued to explain to me the facets of Gainesville Pet Rescue in how it is a “volunteer-based non-profit organization” (Nikolette K) which directly aligned with a previous interview I had analyzed on the Gainesville Sun with Gainesville Pet Rescue shelter-neuter-return program coordinator, Danielle Cummings who reinforced the importance of volunteers as they “help the staff get to know animals on a personal level, making sure they’re placed in the perfect home for them” (Deck). The long hours and effort both staff and volunteers put into the program directly gives back and relates to the importance of how effective they are as an organization; they are willing to go to any extent to keep their animals far away from the corridors of Animal Services.
As my observations reveal, the animal rights movement takes its shape through a variety of organizations on several different levels. No matter the level, however, the organization thrives in its effectiveness to raise awareness for the animal rights cause; whether it is heavily reliant on volunteer work or in mass advertising to raise controversy, the awareness makes its presence known in our society over time. The effectiveness of a group on its own, however, is debatable and should require further research on whether more national groups or small, local groups are more successful. This can be done by further immersing myself into local groups to gain more insight on statistical evidence on euthanization and adoption rates of each organization per year to determine their success on a much smaller scale as opposed to the animal rights movement as a whole.