From Apply Now,
Your Guide to Animal Rights.
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When is someone considered an activist for animals? You don’t have to be involved in freeing laboratory animals or protest with picket signs to be an animal rights activist.

In its broadest terms, activism means doing something - anything - to help the cause. Making pro-animal personal lifestyle choices, writing a letter to the editor and donating to animal-related nonprofit organizations are all examples of activism. Because of the negative connotations sometimes associated with the term “activist,” some people are turning to the term “advocate” to describe their activities on behalf of animals.

An advocate usually is defined as someone who supports a cause or policy or who defends another person (in this case, animal). The primary activities of an advocate, then, are speaking and writing. Sometimes, advocates are appointed to legally represent someone, as in the case of a patient advocate or a children’s advocate. Advocacy often is linked with efforts to change law and public policy. Conversely, an activist usually is defined as someone who undertakes more vigorous involvement in achieving the goals of the cause. Activists typically participate in demonstrations, protests or other “direct action.” Sometimes, activists are confrontational or may participate in illegal activities. So, by these definitions, all activists are advocates, but not all advocates are activists.

How Everyone Can Be An Animal Rights Activist

Is there something wrong with choosing to be an advocate rather than an activist? Do advocates feel less strongly about the cause? According to ALF’s Tips for Activists: “Animal rights activism spans a broad spectrum, with relatively simple and innocuous actions at one end, and difficult and politico-legally charged actions at the other. Each individual must make a personal decision about where to reside on the spectrum.”

The Animal Liberation Front web article describes four main types of activism: personal actions, proselytizing, organizing and civil disobedience. Most animal rights activities fall into the first three categories.

• Personal actions include educating yourself about the issues, becoming a vegetarian, avoiding products tested on animals, not wearing leather or fur, investing in animal-friendly companies, donating to animal causes and adopting animal-friendly habits in everyday life.
  
  
• Proselytizing is the process of “spreading the word,” by discussing animal issues with friends and family, writing letters to the editor, contacting your lawmakers, participating in leafleting and tabling, commenting at public meetings, and getting involved in demonstrations or protests.
  
  
• Organizing is helping others to spread the word by joining or forming an animal rights organization and getting involved in political or legal efforts on behalf of animals.
  
  
• Civil disobedience involves the methods of obstruction, harassment, infiltration, sabotage and raids. Examples include sit-ins to block access to exploitive activities, posing as a lab employee to gather video documentation of laboratory animal abuse, throwing red paint on furs, destroying laboratory equipment, and breaking into labs to free captive animals.

Animal rights activism is not an all-or-nothing proposition. People can get involved at whatever level they feel comfortable and even condemn those actions they feel are inappropriate. The important thing is for everyone who cares about animals to do something.