1 Articulating Animal Rights: Activism, Networks and Anthropocentrism Eva Haifa Sarah Giraud Thesis submitted to the University of Nottingham for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy December 2011 2 Abstract The thesis establishes a conversation between Donna Haraway and the work of contemporary UK animal rights groups, in order to develop their – respective – approaches to articulating animal rights issues. To analyse the tactics of these movements a conceptual framework is constructed through combining Haraway's insights with those of Bruno Latour, performative uses of actor- network theory and key concepts from Pierre Bourdieu (such as field, habitus and doxa). Through focusing on the tactics of UK animal rights groups the thesis works to recuperate certain of these practices from the criticisms Haraway levels at animal rights groups more broadly; illustrating contexts where these movements are departing from humanist rights-discourses and developing approaches more suited to the radical critique of anthropocentrism that is central to Haraway's own project. To develop a sense of the disparate approaches taken by these animal rights movements that complement Haraway's arguments, various online and offline tactics are analysed; drawing on a range of lobbying practices undertaken by movements involved in the vivisection debate (such as SPEAK and the BUAV), before focusing on more creative forms of vegan campaigning engaged in by local Nottingham groups (such as Veggies Catering Campaign and Nottingham Animal Rights). 3 Love and thanks to: Robin Shackford; for making me happy and centred, as well as hearing me repetitively go over my arguments. Annie Giraud; for love and support and everything else that I can‟t put into words. Abdulrahman Giraud; wanting to do right by you has driven so much of what I've done academically. Alice Shackford; for giving me the sort of insight that only a thoughtful teenager can and making it easy to juggle being a step-mum and a postgraduate. Danny Giraud and Ethel Hannant; your support has meant so much to me. Bushra Aytour; I hope I‟ve made you happy! Annette Foster and Debs Storey; my Nottingham family. Brent Reid; for encouraging me to move to Nottingham and get involved more with AR, as well as being a font of knowledge about local activism. Anita and Roger Bromley; for just being really lovely people and giving me a huge amount of support throughout the PhD. Thanks also to the other postgraduate people from the Department of Cultural Studies at Nottingham University and Nottingham‟s Feminism and Teaching Network, especially Adity, Ying, Caroline, Matt, Michael, Teodora, Kathryn, Stefanie, Charlotte, Marta, Calvin, Melissa, Eireann, Iain, Jude, Laura. Being around you all has helped me so much over the past four years. Nottingham friends; particularly Chris and Kristabel Beeley. Edinburgh friends; particularly Matt, Katarina, Aythan, Leanne, Alice, Mark, Flo, Claire. Norwich friends; Carly and Naomi. Thanks should also go to all of the places that let me sit and write for hours, including: Dotty's Cafe, the Alley Cafe and the Broadway. Particular thanks has to go to Nottingham Animal Rights and Veggies Catering Campaign, especially Patrick Smith and everyone who helped and contributed to the free food give-aways in 2010 – especially Lily and Eshe, who were a ray of sunshine. Post-viva thanks must also go to Jenny Pickerill and Colin Wright, for making the final hurdle a really stimulating and rewarding experience. Finally, an absolutely huge thank you to my lovely, supportive supervisors: Neal Curtis and Tracey Potts. Thank you so much. 4 Table of Contents Introduction: Articulating Animal Rights .......................................................................................... 5 Anthropocentrism in Animal Rights ............................................................................................... 6 Articulation and Activist Politics .................................................................................................. 10 Activist Networks and Animal Rights ........................................................................................... 16 Chapters ......................................................................................................................................... 24 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 33 Chapter 1: A Politics of Articulation ................................................................................................ 34 Monsters and Mapping .................................................................................................................. 37 Articulating Actor-Networks ........................................................................................................ 46 Situated Mapping .......................................................................................................................... 54 McLibel: Articulating the McDonald‟s Actor-Network ................................................................ 63 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 82 Chapter 2: Beasts of Burden ............................................................................................................. 87 Haraway and Animal Rights ......................................................................................................... 90 'Value added dogs' and Burdened Beasts ...................................................................................... 96 Haraway and Cosmopolitics ....................................................................................................... 105 Killability: an autopoietic mechanism of capital ......................................................................... 116 Chapter 3: Making Monsters: Performing Vivisection's Stories .................................................... 137 Haraway and Vivisection ............................................................................................................. 143 From Doxa to Orthodox: Exposing the Hybridity of Scientific Networks ................................. 147 Monstrous Hybridity ................................................................................................................... 153 SPEAK: Activism Meets Science? .............................................................................................. 157 Subjective Activists Versus Modest Witnesses? .......................................................................... 177 Introducing Monsters to the Network ......................................................................................... 183 Productive Antagonism .............................................................................................................. 186 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 193 Chapter 4: Power, Permanence and Political Transformation: Reconciling Bourdieu and Latour 198 Can Bourdieu's structuring structures be reconciled with Latour's networks?............................ 201 SPEAK: redistributing symbolic capital ..................................................................................... 215 Reality Effects: Reconciling Habitus and Network .................................................................... 222 Transforming the Field: the tactics of the BUAV ........................................................................ 232 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 238 Chapter 5: Samosas for Social Change .......................................................................................... 242 Meeting Haraway ........................................................................................................................ 246 Performative Protest: A Means of Disrupting Habitus? .............................................................. 250 Disrupting Commercial Spaces: Making the Doxa Orthodox .................................................... 254 Cosmopolitical Experiments in Activism: Veggies at the 'Hori-Zone' ........................................ 266 Conclusion....................................................................................................................................... 283 From Anthropocentrism to Hybridity .......................................................................................... 285 Networks and Articulation .......................................................................................................... 287 Figures ............................................................................................................................................. 291 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................... 297 Appendix ......................................................................................................................................... 307 5 Introduction: Articulating Animal Rights The purpose of the thesis is to develop a conversation between theoretical perspectives that focus on articulating issues surrounding animal ethics, networked activism and social transformation –