A voice for the voiceless: The politics of the animal rights movement

Despite the animal rights movement's status as a significant contemporary social movement, there has been no systematic examination of its politics. This dissertation broadly introduces and explores the political tactics and strategies of the contemporary animal rights movement in the United States and its policy impact through several theoretical lenses and using a variety of qualitative and quantitative research methods. I explore the history of the movement, using original and unique research to examine the profile of contemporary animal rights activists and the amount of media attention the movement has attracted since 1975. I also look at American public opinion on animal rights issues and the relationship between the public's opinions on the animal rights movement and their opinions on the environmental movement. Further, I examine how animal rights groups in different regions of the country have framed the movement's policy issues, finding that they are more likely to rely on the rhetoric of animal welfare than animal rights. I next consider the movement's policy strategies on the state level, first examining the influence of the Humane Society of the United States on state adoption of animal cruelty felony legislation. My research indicates that although animal rights groups are not the traditional, insider groups expected to have presence or influence in state policymaking, they can play a significant role in state policy adoption. I also examine the animal rights movement's successful use of state ballot initiatives by exploring the link between public support for animal rights policies and post-materialism theory, finding support for several key post-materialism hypotheses. I additionally consider how the movement has used legal strategies to advance its cause. Understanding that any plan that would immediately give animals independent legal rights is destined to fail, the movement has sought to gradually change the status of animals through the expansion of tort law as it relates to companion animals. I conclude by reviewing my major empirical and theoretical findings and assessing areas where the movement has achieved political success and areas where the movement needs to continue to improve.