Lyle Munro (2001) Compassionate Beasts: The Quest for Animal Rights. Westport, CT: Praeger Press

Joanne Swabe , Utrecht University

Are animal activists violent extremists, or are they, indeed, compassionate beasts? Having marched alongside anti-vivisection campaigners and fraternized with hunt saboteurs, the answer to me always seemed to be patently obvious: These are passionate folk with a deep and healthy respect for both animal and human life. Yet, while in the middle of reading Munro's absorbing work, an incident took place in the Netherlands, which not only shook this sleepy European backwater to the core but also raised questions about just how far animal activists are prepared to go for their cause. On May 6, 2002, Pim Fortuyn, a controversial right-wing politician (and former professor of sociology) was gunned down in cold blood the alleged assassin a fervent animal rights activist, apparently having taken umbrage with Fortuyn's support of the intensive farming industry and pledge to repeal a recent law banning fur-farming.

Although the accused has undoubtedly done no end of damage to the image of animal rights, in the light of Munro's book he is most certainly an anathema. Such violent actions go very much against the grain of the animal rights movement that he describes, where disturbance of the public order and minor acts of vandalism remain the most common transgressions of law. Indeed, Munro's book goes a long way toward illustrating the extent to which even the most ardent of activists eschew the extremist and violent action for which their cause oft has been demonized. He demonstrates just how “compassionate beasts” animal protectionists, that is come in all shapes and sizes, colors and creeds: This is most strikingly illustrated by his description of the protests against the live export of sheep and cattle in Brightlingsea, United Kingdom.

Here also lies the main problem with Munro's work. The sheer complexity of the animal rights movement renders it very difficult to describe or categorize. As a reader, one is overwhelmed by the plethora of acronyms for the 27 or so organizations that he describes, each of which has highly individual aims, campaign issues, and political or philosophical stances. Some are unique to the country of origin, namely Australia, Great Britain or the United States. These organizations simply cannot be lumped together. More to the point, it seems, they do not want to be. Munro acknowledges this, himself distinguishing between these social movement organizations on the basis of activism and advocacy, animal welfare, animal rights, and animal liberation although the latter term turns out to have very different connotations in Australia, the birthplace and main stomping ground of philosopher Peter Singer who first coined the term). A further and interesting distinction that Munro makes is between campaigning for animals “in the streets” or “the suites.” He uses these expressions to contrast the grassroots nature of animal rights activism with the kind of political lobbying conducted by animal advocates working for more mainstream organizations. This distinction is indeed extremely useful for highlighting the very different methods used by various groups to influence public opinion and political process.

Although Munro presents a succinct summary of the most influential animal rights philosophers (and their critics), unlike other works on the animal rights movement he is keen not to pay too great homage to them. The main object of his book is to examine the ideas and motivations of those involved at the grassroots level of the movement, as supporters or activists, or as professional animal advocates. These people form the core of the movement, and it is their story that he wishes to tell in their own terms. Nevertheless, these activists and advocates could have been given an even greater voice than Munro actually affords them. Certainly, we are given snippets of information about how his respondents joined their cause of choice, the personal sacrifices they have made, and the brunt of the emotional burdens they bear, but it is all a bit too fragmentary. Partially, this is because of the sheer number and diversity of organizations represented, discussed, and compared in the book.

He is, however, highly successful in illustrating the tensions within and between such organizations. For example, for the fundamentalists of the animal rights movement, the issue of ethical vegetarianism is crucial to measuring one's commitment to the cause. His activist respondents view the consumption of meat as a main determinant of their status of being insiders or outsiders. The pragmatism applied by the more realist advocates, who attempt to instigate change for the treatment of animals through established channels, he argues, tends to be regarded with disdain by the more radical campaigners. The issue of some organizations' participation in Animal Ethics committees is perhaps the most salient example chosen by Munro. He reveals that while their involvement in such committees may lead to concrete improvements for the lives of animals in the laboratory, those who favor the abolition of vivisection argue that such participation ultimately boils down to little more than an implicit acceptance of animal experimentation. To this end, Munro demonstrates just how difficult it is for these social movements to satisfy the wishes or expectations of their membership bodies and make practical inroads into the betterment of animal welfare.

Compassionate Beasts most certainly provides a valuable contribution to our understanding of the animal rights movement and those involved in it. It nicely illustrates the manner in which people are inspired to align themselves with particular animal-related causes. Moreover, it reveals how some organizations have been highly successful in achieving their aims through the creative use of anthropomorphism, humor, and health issues, rather than relying on the moral arguments that have been more familiar to public campaigns and philosophical discussions on animal issues in the past.

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