Foreign Rights

Unlike veganism, which is more of a lifestyle, anti-speciesism – i.e. the fight against all discrimination based on species membership – is more explicitly political and gives rise to radical movements, some of which rely on direct action. By the end of the 19th century, socialists and anarchists created vegetarian communities and fought against vivisection in sometimes radical ways, but it was in Britain, in the middle of the 20th century, that another form of radical animalist activism emerged and took the path of radical and violent action, notably with the creation of the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), which would also develop rapidly in the United States. Through a study of the movement in France, Canada and Israel, this book analyses the most sensitive points of the anti-speciesist discourse, such as the comparison between slaughterhouses and extermination camps or slavery, addresses the issue of vegan-washing, and assesses the progress of the cause and the openness of our societies to issues anchored in our relationship with animals.