China’s pet activists: Using moral arguments and epidemic concerns to make space for animal rights
Year: 2022
Type: article
Abstract: In China, a widespread movement for animal rights arose only recently and without a strong level of state-based support, unlike the well-documented rise in Europe and North America.This movement has nonetheless become a vocal force for social change.Somewhat surprisingly, as other social movements have experienced increasing state-led resistance and pressure since 2012, the animal rights contingent has remained a vibrant part of the social landscape that mediates humans' relations with other animals.How have these agents been able to persist despite the greater political clampdown?We argue that the Covid-19 pandemic, first identified in China, has become a new resource for animal rights activists.These activists are working to leverage the growing fear of zoonotic contagion as a rationale for their work for dogs.
Authors: Suzanne Barber, Michael Hathaway
Institutions: Purdue University West Lafayette, Simon Fraser University
Language: English
Topic: Animal Law and Welfare
Subfield: Law
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4221068644