The Animal Rights Struggle: an Essay in Historical Sociology Christophe Traïni
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The Animal Rights Struggle: An Essay in Historical Sociology Christophe Traïni To cite this version: Christophe Traïni. The Animal Rights Struggle: An Essay in Historical Sociology. 2016. halshs- 02864005 HAL Id: halshs-02864005 https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-02864005 Submitted on 26 Aug 2020 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. The animal rights struggle. An essay in historical sociology (1820-1980) Christophe Traïni The ongoing struggle to protect the rights of animals, though often reduced in the public mind to a number of misleading stereotypes, actually has a long and complex history. From the beginning of the 19 th century to the present day, a host of campaigners have denounced the mistreatment of animals, and attempted to put an end to the brutality animals have suffered at the hands of their contemporaries. The concerns of animal rights activists, which were initially confined to the cruel treatment of livestock, eventually extended to domestic pets and subsequently, though much later, to the protection of wild animals and their natural habitats. Relying on a comparison between the British and French experiences, the present work 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. 1 Table of contents Introduction Chapter 1. A long and complex struggle The pioneering influence of the British model Equivocal, evolving and cumulative engagements Chapter 2. Noble gentleness, vile cruelty The sensibility of distinguished men The banning of repugnant spectacles Chapter 3. To act as an enlightened philosopher No sentimentality nor affectation From the point of view of self-interest properly understood Chapter 4. To enlighten the ignorant, to refine the barbarian A soft pedagogy to prevent the crime Discipline, reward and punish Assisting the authorities Chapter 5. «us », the animals and « them » Repulsive beasts. Distinctive national virtues The established, the challengers and the excluded Chapter 6. The rise in the power of tenderness Animality, equality, fraternity A source of affection or a private refuge? Imaginary bestiary and the cuddly toys of our childhood Chapter 7. (Animal) victims and social domination At the heart of the revolt against the strong Expose the torturers, come to the aid of victims. Emotions, counter-mobilisations, delegitimation. Chapter 8. A decreasingly « wild » nature From the exploitation of animals to their contemplation Technological ferocity, industrial slavery Bringing moral philosophy up to date. Conclusion Primary sources Bibliography A brief chronology 2 Abstract Chapter 1. A long and complex struggle The animal rights movement is much older than one might imagine. As long ago as the beginning of the 19th century British pioneers were campaigning for animal welfare and working to internationalise their struggle. This book is not of exclusively historic interest, however. A review of the development of animal protection over time leads to a deeper understanding of this complex cause which, to this day, is characterised by the variety of its objectives, tactics and ideological justifications. Chapter 2. Noble gentleness, vile cruelty Early concern for animal welfare was rooted in the growing aversion to violence, and to the spectacle of the effects of violence on bodies. The earliest campaigns aimed to promote the adoption in public places of those “civilised” norms already adopted by the elites, who had by then turned their backs on warrior culture. The first campaigners, who often moved in the same circles as the social and political elites, worked to outlaw the repugnant spectacles resulting from the violence routinely inflicted on animals by the common people. Animal welfare pioneers were moved to advocate the establishment of the first abattoirs, in order to protect the more refined members of society, whose sensibilities were upset by the public slaughtering of animals. Chapter 3. To act as an enlightened philosopher The earliest campaigns, led by a number of establishment figures, invoked a kind of enlightened thinking which aimed to have human conduct conform to the highest standards of rationality. Animal welfare campaigns frequently referred to ways of thinking which promoted economic rationality, which was important for the development of industrialisation and the emerging capitalist system. These ways of thinking dismissed animal welfare arguments grounded in “sentimentality” and “oversensitiveness”, watchwords which in France, then elsewhere in Europe, were at the heart of a campaign which, with hindsight, may seem paradoxical: the promotion of the consumption of horsemeat, which had previously been considered taboo. As horses were regarded as noble animals, members of the aristocracy were strongly opposed to their transformation into butcher’s meat. Moreover in Great Britain the continued influence of the aristocracy prevented the consumption of horsemeat to develop there as it had done on the continent. Chapter 4. To enlighten the ignorant, to refine the barbarian The actions of the first animal welfare activists further demonstrate the underlying preoccupations of their earliest campaigns. This chapter describes the measures taken by the societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals to monitor and punish mistreatment of animals by the common people. Both English and French societies organised private policing of the treatment of animals. The purpose of this initiative was to control popular violence, which the authorities feared might degenerate into the kind of revolutionary mobilisations which shook France in 1789. This attempt to civilise the people would, however, also be taken up in France by progressive republican forces, but for very different reasons: their aim was to educate the newly politically enfranchised populace. Chapter 5. «Us », the animals and « them » As part of their advocacy of animal welfare, activists sought to prevent their contemporaries from indulging in various acts of “bestiality” which were widespread at the time. The animal welfare movement campaigned both to establish their own moral superiority, and to stigmatise social groups whose brutality they condemned. In the activist discourse “They” (the barbaric individuals who mistreated animals) were set up in opposition to “Us” (who were characterised by tenderness). This chapter shows the extent to which these differentiation processes relied upon definitions of national qualities and perceptions of regional differences, as well as competing legitimations of dominant groups. A comparative approach enables significant differences and similarities to be highlighted. So, on the one hand, British campaigners proclaimed the superiority of British civilisation through an intensive campaign condemning the cruelty of vivisection, which was then widely practiced by scientists in continental Europe (particularly France and Germany). Activists in France, on the other hand, united in opposing the organisation, on French soil, of bullfighting, which they regarded as a barbaric spectacle alien to French mores. The examination of these differentiation processes is crucial to an understanding of the extent to which animal welfare campaigns can present themselves as moral crusades. Chapter 6. The rise in the power of tenderness The earliest campaigns, being essentially preoccupied with limiting human violence, paid little attention to the suffering of animals. This chapter analyses why and how manifestations of compassion towards mistreated animals became increasingly common in the second half of the 19th century. This trend was due, firstly, to the 3 growing challenge to hierarchic mentalities presented by egalitarianism - which was central to Tocqueville’s thinking – and, secondly, to the fact that, as a result of urbanisation, people had less contact with cattle and wild animals than before. Within the privacy of middle class homes, relationships with cats and dogs became people’s main experience of animals. Moreover, at the end of the 19 th and beginning of the 20 th century the collective imagination was increasing peopled by an imaginary childhood bestiary: Black Beauty , Teddy Bears, etc… There were two other important turning points in the history of animal welfare around this time: grassroots activism evolved into a more female pursuit, and initiatives