Animal rights activists' representations of animals and animal rights: An exploratory study

Abstract

During the last 30 years, supporters of the animal rights movement have questioned the use of animals for human benefit and have campaigned for improvements in their welfare. In the present study, activists' representations of animals and animal rights were investigated by interviewing 23 participants (from three animal welfare and animal rights organizations) during four focus-group discussions. Results show that the activists' representations were generated from the love/pain thema, which on the one hand showed the compassion and love the activists have for animals, and on the other hand the suffering that animals can endure. Moreover, differences were found in this study in the way that members of the three animal welfare and rights organizations constructed their views of animals. While members of two out of the three organizations aimed to protect abandoned animals, members of the Anti-Vivisection League faced the contradictions within the human–animal relationship and endorsed a more coherent approach to animals. These findings are interpreted in light of previous studies conducted on the animal rights movement and of recent developments in social representation theory.