THIS is what i mean when I say animal rights groups are absolute garbage that waste time, resources and money, all whilst doing nothing for animal’s welfare.
peta have ruined a person’s life and career over a fucking photo. This is what peta does with it’s donated money and resources. This is what you’re supporting when you support animal rights groups.
It’s even worse because the photographer was working towards macaque conservation and welfare.
Don’t lump all animal rights groups into being the same as PETA
Actually I will because all animal rights groups are the same. Animal rights fundamental belief is based on applying human behaviours / rights and the anthropomorphism that comes from that, onto animals. They believe at their core that animals should have the same rights as humans and they’ll gladly compare marginalised people and their oppression to animals which in itself is disgusting.
Animal rights has done nothing to actually help animals or improve the welfare and care of them. Animal rights activists are people throwing red paint at literal strangers, or doing graphic gross public “demonstrations” in order to shock, they sit on a pile of their own bs and think they’re ethically or morally superior to everyone else despite doing nothing to actually help animals.
They include for profit groups such as PETA which do more harm then good, or terrorist organisations like the animal liberation front.
Animal welfare activism is what you all should be supporting. Animal welfare organisations are non-for-profit and built up of actual animal professionals; vets, scientists, conversationalists, farmers, so on. Animal welfare activist are the reason we have animal welfare boards that oversee animal scientific research, why scientists have to animal ethics when working with vertebrates, why there are certain welfare regulations for slaughtering animals for agriculture, why there are government laws and guidelines for animal care and welfare. They include groups such as the RSPCA/ ASPCA, The humane society (international), Animal Welfare League.
If you support animal rights you frankly are ignorant when it comes to animals and to actual welfare practices or how to go about actually changing welfare issues. If you want to read more about the differences between animal rights and animal welfare I have more posts on it here based on my experience as a zoologist and from my education during my undergrad zoo degree in which I had specific units (animal health and welfare unit) that went over animal welfare and rights.
So yes all animal rights groups are horrible and you shouldn’t be supporting them but animal welfare. Which are two very different groups and organisations.
Animal activism is one of those realms where a purely feelings-based approach just won’t do. It’s natural to be angered and saddened by what happens to animals, but if you want to change anything, you need experts and sound strategy. That’s what animal rights groups tend to miss: they’re very good at being visibly outraged and that’s about it.
Take the group I saw downtown a few weeks ago. They were standing there in Guy Fawkes masks with television screens strapped to them showing horrific scenes of animal mutilation. They had ‘Meat Is Murder’ signs. I don’t doubt these people had good intentions, but their approach was completely ineffective.
They weren’t giving out information. Standing there silently with masks on, they weren’t making themselves open to questions. And crucially, what they were doing was driving people away, not bringing them in. Broadcasting extremely disturbing material like that on a busy street where any number of little kids, people with PTSD, or anyone else sensitive to that could see it…that’s just supremely stupid. All they did was make people avoid them. They didn’t really spread awareness.
So when people say you should support animal welfare, not animal rights, they’re not telling you to care less about animals, they’re telling you to use that care to support organisations with expert backing who do things that actually have a positive impact on their wellbeing.
