Animal agriculture targeted at national animal rights meetings

by Philip Lobo, Communications Director – Animal Agriculture Alliance

Two national conferences held in July and August 2008 brought together 1,200 domestic and international animal rights activists to share strategies and tactics for furthering
their campaigns. Taking Action for Animals increased attendance is in its fourth year.

Animal Rights 2008 retains attendees despite having been boycotted by animal rights giants the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and People for the Ethical Treatment
of Animals (PETA) for the past three years, Animal Rights 2008 attracted roughly 400 animal rights activists.

Items high on the agenda at the conference included effective ways to appropriate religion and co-opt environmentalism, how to maximize the value of “YouTube” as a communication tool and ideal techniques to for reaching children and young adults with the animal rights message. Animal agriculture also was targeted, with groups sharing ideas for ending animal agriculture altogether.

Having only received cursory attention in the past few years, livestock production was a top target at Animal Rights 2008. Conference attendees embraced an incremental approach to abolishing animal agriculture. Alex Hershaft, President of Farm Animal Reform Movement (FARM) and a leader in the movement to repeal the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA), opined “abolition (of meat) provides the long-term solution” but also emphasized farm welfare reforms, although not a long-term solution, provide a means to ending animal agriculture. Well-known activist Karen Dawn and animal rights attorney Sean Day similarly emphasized that every step that moves animal agriculture toward the activists’ definition of animal welfare is a step toward animal liberation.
http://www.beefusa.org/uDocs/animalagriculturetargetedatnationalanimalrightsmeetings.pdf

Podcast: Animal Rights 2008 Conference - Engaging Children - Warwak