STUDY: Short and long-term effects of disruptive animal rights protest
The study conducted the first in-depth investigation of the short and long-term effects of a disruptive animal rights protest, Animal Rising’s protest at the UK Grand National horse race. The study found that immediately after the protest, respondents’ awareness of the action was linked with more negative attitudes towards animals. However, these negative effects dissipated after six months, suggesting that high-profile disruptive protests trigger short-term emotional reactions that fade over time. This evaluation suggests that an initial emotional backfire effect of disruptive animal rights protest might be a necessary short-term setback in the general direction of a progressive shift to how society thinks about animals.
MARKUS OSTAREK: Animal rights organizations try to change public sentiment and behaviours through a range of methods including public awareness campaigns, consumer education, legislative advocacy, community engagement, and scientific research. Their goal is to make people question society’s relationship with animals, especially those we eat and use for entertainment. One such organization is Animal Rising (AR), an animal rights group calling for a plant-based food system to replace the fishing and farming industries which are responsible for animal cruelty and environmental harm. Set up in 2019 as an offshoot of the environmental group Extinction Rebellion (and formerly known as “Animal Rebellion”), AR has attracted significant attention by conducting actions such as blockading abattoirs and meat factories…
The present study focuses on the protest at the Grand National horse race in April 2023, when AR activists went onto the course and caused a delay to the start of the race, triggering substantial media attention. The Grand National (GN) is the UK’s most popular and prestigious horse race. It has been running since 1839, is aired on free-to-view television in the UK and is watched by millions of British and overseas viewers each year. The race is a cultural institution in the UK; for many, it is the only horse race they watch on an annual basis. The race is not without controversy. Compared to other races, it is particularly dangerous. It is a long steeplechase race of over 4 miles and including 30 jumps, some notoriously difficult. Steeplechases in general carry a high mortality rate, with an estimated 6 in 1000 horses dying as a result of racing. Two horses died at the 2023 GN race.
Note however, that the goals and motivations for this protest went far beyond the ethics of horse racing per se; AR chose this target to try and encourage people to rethink society’s general relationship with – and treatment of – animals. AR’s disruption of the GN horse race was featured very prominently on the British news for two days immediately following the protest and the events and the issues raised were widely debated across the country, making it plausible that it caused measurable changes in people’s attitudes towards animals. We investigated short-term (a few days after) as well as long-term (6 months later) effects of the Grand National (GN) protest, assessed how the media respond to major disruptive animal rights protests and investigated how the protests affected direct donations and sign-ups to AR.
We found that immediately after the protest, respondents’ awareness of the action was linked with more negative attitudes towards animals. However, these negative effects dissipated after six months, suggesting that high-profile disruptive protests trigger short-term emotional reactions that fade over time. Cross-sectional comparisons revealed overall positive shifts in attitudes towards animals over the six-month period. We also found that the protest triggered a sharp increase in media and public attention, as well as mobilization for the protest group. This evaluation suggests that an initial emotional backfire effect of disruptive animal rights protest might be a necessary short-term setback in the general direction of a progressive shift to how society thinks about animals. SOURCE…
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