Activism is big business, with the most active animal rights groups in the U.S. bringing in more than $550 million annually in income, said Hannah Thompson-Weeman, vice president, strategic engagement at the Animal Agriculture Alliance during a presentation at the Iowa Pork Congress last month.
While some of that funding comes from individual donors who believe their contributions are helping stray dogs and cats, a significant amount comes from foundations that are funneling millions of dollars into animal rights and environmental activist groups.
Some of these foundations are also connected to the media, she said. For example, the Open Philanthropy Project has awarded millions of dollars to animal rights activist groups over the past few years while also underwriting The Guardian’s coverage of farm animal welfare.
“Anyone involved in the animal agriculture community needs to understand the big picture of the animal rights movement,” Thompson-Weeman said. “This is a well-funded and extremely strategic movement and we need to stay on top of how they operate and how we can protect ourselves.”
How has the activist changed over the years?
Many in animal agriculture are familiar with “undercover video” campaigns, which have been used by activist groups for decades. Activists will seek employment on farms or in processing plants with the sole intention of capturing photos or video footage that can be used in a negative publicity campaign, all while receiving a paycheck from an animal rights organization. These undercover video campaigns may contain standard industry practices taken out of context to look nefarious.”
“In other instances, they do show true abuse or mishandling – that the activist filming took no steps to stop (in some cases they have been accused of causing the situation). Rather than promptly reporting concerns, activist groups will sit on footage for weeks or even months until they believe it is advantageous to release it,” Thompson-Weeman said. “The undercover videos produced by animal rights groups are not really about stopping animal abuse. They are instead about using underhanded and manipulative tactics to produce videos that mislead the public and create distrust in how food is produced. Over the past few years, groups have tied undercover video campaigns to household name brands as those stories tend to generate more attention.”
The secretive approach has worn off over the years. Today, activism has changed dramatically. As technology and social media have evolved, so has activism.
“While many groups are attempting to position themselves are more moderate and professional in order to get into boardrooms and attempt to influence brands, others have returned to the more extreme roots of animal rights activism,” she said. “Tactics such as holding regular vigils and protests at farms and plants, trespassing into barns and stealing animals, holding mass protests where they have transported hundreds of activists to farms to protest and demand that animals be released, and publicity stunts such as disrupting political rallies and other public events to try to gain attention to their calls for “animal liberation are all being used more frequently.”
“For some groups and individuals, activism today isn’t about going “undercover.” They want to broadcast their activities on social media and get attention for their cause. The more views on their videos, the more fundraising they can do.”
Why is this important to farmers? Because you need to understand what drives them, Thompson-Weeman said. If they don’t get the content that they need, they’re not going to get paid. They’re competing for funding, too.
Hire carefully
As a farmer, it’s your job to protect your farm and be ready to respond if an activist approaches your operation. One way you can be proactive is to hire carefully.
Employees are one of the biggest vulnerabilities in animal agriculture, she added.
“It’s so important for farmers to be increasingly vigilant when they hire people to come onto their farms,” Thompson-Weeman said. “We have to ask the right questions, contact references and do our research. Unfortunately, we have to worry about why they want to come work on our farms and figure out what their intentions are.”
So how do you make hiring decisions you won’t regret later?
Thompson-Weeman recommends slowing down and taking your time to carefully evaluate potential candidates. Perform background checks and dig into their previous work experiences. Don’t take their resume at face value.
She also recommends requiring employees to sign social media and filming policy agreements.
And most importantly, look for red flags, she said.
“Is your candidate overeducated or inappropriately educated for the job they are applying for? Does their license and other information contrast with the background they’ve shared with you or their past work history? If something doesn’t feel right, explore it further,” Thompson-Weeman said.
Read more:
Animal Rights Activism: You Need to Protect Your Farm
Protect Yourself from Online Activism
What’s Next for Animal Activism in 2021 and What Can We Do About It?
