PROTEST AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 6 PROTEST AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS Traïni From the beginning of the 19th century to the present day, a host of campaigners have denounced the mistreatment of animals. Relying on a comparison between the British and French experiences, The Animal Rights Struggle: An Essay in Historical Sociology retraces the various strands of the animal protection movement, from their origins to their continuing impact on current debates. Inextricably linked to the rise of philanthropy, and well established long before the birth of the ecology movement, the story of the collective mobilizations behind the struggle for animal rights sheds light on several crucial processes in our social and political history: changes in sensibilities and socially approved emotions; the definition of what constitutes legitimate violence; the establishment of norms designed to change what constitutes morally acceptable practices; rivalry between elites having differing conceptions of the forms authority should take; the influence of religious belief on militant activities; and the effects of gender discrimination. The Rights Animal Struggle Christophe Traïni is professor of Political Science at the Institute of Political Science in Aix-en-Provence. His publications include La musique en colère (Paris: Presses de Sciences Po, 2008), La cause animale (Paris: PUF, 2011), and the edition of the reader Emotions ... mobilisation! (Paris: Presses de Sciences Po, 2009). Christophe Traïni The Animal Rights Struggle An Essay in Historical Sociology ISBN: 978-90-8964-849-5 AUP.nl 9 7 8 9 0 8 9 6 4 8 4 9 5 The Animal Rights Struggle Protest and Social Movements Recent years have seen an explosion of protest movements around the world, and academic theories are racing to catch up with them. This series aims to further our understanding of the origins, dealings, decisions, and outcomes of social movements by fostering dialogue among many traditions of thought, across European nations and across continents. All theoretical perspectives are welcome. Books in the series typically combine theory with empirical research, dealing with various types of mobilization, from neighborhood groups to revolutions. We especially welcome work that synthesizes or compares different approaches to social movements, such as cultural and structural traditions, micro- and macro-social, economic and ideal, or qualitative and quantitative. Books in the series will be published in English. One goal is to encourage non- native speakers to introduce their work to Anglophone audiences. Another is to maximize accessibility: all books will be available in open access within a year after printed publication. Series editors Jan Willem Duyvendak is professor of Sociology at the University of Amsterdam. James M. Jasper teaches at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. The Animal Rights Struggle An Essay in Historical Sociology Christophe Traïni Amsterdam University Press Originally published as La cause animale. Essai de sociologie historique (1820-1980), 2011 © Presses Universitaires de France Text translated by Richard Jemmett Cover illustration: Photography by Christophe Traïni, Fréjus, July 2005 Cover design: Coördesign, Leiden Typesetting: Crius Group, Hulshout Amsterdam University Press English-language titles are distributed in the US and Canada by the University of Chicago Press. isbn 978 90 8964 849 5 e-isbn 978 90 4852 703 8 (pdf) doi 10.5117/9789089648495 nur 740 © Christophe Traïni / Amsterdam University Press B.V., Amsterdam 2016 All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the written permission of both the copyright owner and the author of the book. Table of contents Introduction 7 1 A long and complex struggle 11 The pioneering influence of the British model 11 Equivocal, evolving and cumulative engagements 14 2 Noble gentleness, vile cruelty 17 The sensibility of distinguished men 17 The banning of repugnant spectacles 20 3 To act as an enlightened philosopher 29 Neither sentimentality nor affectation 29 “From the point of view of self-interest properly understood” 33 4 To enlighten the ignorant, to refine the barbarian 39 A pedagogy of gentleness in order to prevent crime 39 Discipline, reward and punish 46 Assisting the authorities 53 5 “Us,” the animals and “them” 59 Repulsive beasts 59 Distinctive national virtues 62 The established, the challengers and the excluded 78 6 The rise in the power of tenderness 93 Animality, equality, fraternity 93 Pets, refuges of intimacy 104 Imaginary beings and children’s soft toys 121 7 (Animal) victims and social domination 125 At the heart of the revolt against the powerful 125 Expose the torturers, help the victims 138 Emotions, countermobilization, delegitimation 147 8 A decreasingly “wild” nature 157 From the exploitation to the contemplation of species 157 Technological ferocity, industrial slavery 171 Bringing moral philosophy up to date 177 Conclusion 185 Bibliography 187 A brief chronology 193 Index 197 Introduction What motivates moral protest? Why do some individuals rally to the defense of others? How can we explain why some people are willing to offer their time and give money to improve the lot of creatures who are forgotten, and “without a voice”? The study of animal rights activism, like the study of humanitarian activism, is a good way of examining what underlies all militant movements which claim to be based on altruism, solidarity and other ethical principles. It should be noted from the outset that the animal protection movement is highly varied and complex. According to the records of the Conseil national de la vie associative, in France each year since 1998 an average of 532 associations, falling into the category of “friends of the animals,” have been registered. This is equivalent to twice the corresponding figure for the period 1975 to 1990. Although these statistics would seem to indicate that the animal rights movement has been expanding over recent years, a detailed analysis of militant organizations leads us to be wary of jumping to conclusions regarding the causes which lie behind this growth in activism. Indeed, any comprehensive survey of activists involves encounters with an amazing variety of individuals from all social backgrounds. There are the volunteers, often women, who work in animal refuges, where they take care of abandoned cats or dogs. Then there are the campaigners who concern themselves with the plight of endangered wild animals – such as whales, gorillas, rhinoceroses and polar bears – whose natural habitats may be thousands of miles away. There are also philosophy students who, on graduation, decide to champion animal rights or antispeciesism.1 There are also the vegans2 who, at Sunday markets, approach passers-by in order to draw their attention to the suffering inflicted on poultry by foie gras producers. In so-called alternative or autonomous punk circles, anarchists scream their disgust at the systematic exploitation of animals. So the range of militant activities engaged in by animal rights campaigners is enormous: feeding and taking care of animals; writing manifestos or works of moral philosophy; distributing tracts; producing documentaries – some intended to shock, others choosing to inform the viewer, using a more measured scientific tone, of the plight of certain wild species, as well as the fate of animals butchered for their meat, or used in laboratory experiments; 1 See below for an examination of what is meant by antispeciesism. 2 Vegans eliminate all animal products from their diets, not only meat but also eggs, milk, cheese and honey. 8 THE ANIMAL RIGHts StrUGGLE organizing petitions; staging demonstrations outside bullrings, circuses, animal testing laboratories, as well as outside the premises of restaurant chains who source meat produced in factory farms; lobbying the authorities to make regulations to protect animals; organizing commando operations to liberate animals being used for testing purposes by the pharmaceutical industry, or, in the case of minks, being farmed for their fur. Communicating a clear picture of the animal protection movement in all its complexity is further hindered by the fact that it is often associated with a number of stereotypes and sensational images. Indeed, this cause, which has a particularly long and complex history, seems destined to be reduced in the public mind to Brigitte Bardot‘s media outbursts, and night raids on mink farms by animal liberationists. In this essay we will seek to replace this reductive image, using a number of tools which will enable the reader to negotiate the labyrinth of the animal rights movement. With this objective in mind, the issues being examined first need to be placed in their historical context. Like a geologist who seeks to uncover the mysteries of the ground beneath their feet, the sociologist of the animal rights move- ment has to trace the history of successive sedimentations, sedimentations which have modeled the forms which contemporary activists reuse and adapt. “Historical sociology is a field which promises to enlighten us, and that is because it obliges the researcher to constantly historicize their reasoning, and take account of the ‘dead hand of the past’” (Déloye, 2007, p. 23). Certainly, this approach is not unproblematic. The