Meetup: An Analysis of Animal Rights Repression

As a student at UC Berkeley, DxE organizer Zoe Rosenberg designed her own major on social movement strategy. For her senior thesis, she did an analysis on the repression of the animal rights movement between the years 1990 and 2010. At this meetup, she will be presenting her thesis.
This is the abstract of her thesis:

The animal rights movement faced brutal government repression in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Anti-terrorism legislation was passed to criminalize nonviolent animal rights activists as terrorists. This all culminated in 2006 when several activists against animal testing were convicted as terrorists and sentenced to serve years in prison. Ultimately, this repression led to a sharp decrease in direct action activity in the United States.

Existing literature has memorialized the history of these years but no existing literature adequately addresses why this repression was so successful in quieting direct action. Social movement theories propose that repression can fuel mobilization, but perhaps only in certain circumstances or when the movement responds appropriately. To conduct this research, I collected qualitative data through in depth interviews with activists. I have applied theories that address how repression interacts with mobilization in a social movement context.

I propose that there are five primary causes of repression’s success in quieting the animal rights movement: lack of insurgent consciousness, the intensity and forms of repression, the broader political context post-9/11, insufficient innovation, and, perhaps most significantly, the movement’s shift towards more moderate and professional forms of organizing.

Fresh coffee, tea, and a delicious plant-based brunch will be provided at the Meetup as well!

Where: Berkeley Animal Rights Center West (2414 6th St, Berkeley)
When: Saturday, October 17th 11am-12:30pm
What: Hangout and presentation

- ARC West is a 30 minute walk from North Berkeley BART and only a 10 minute walk from the 51B bus stop at University and 6th St.
- Dogs that like other dogs are welcome at this event!
- There will be plant-based brunch and coffee, donations accepted
- If you cannot join in person, you can join at 11:15am on Zoom at this link: [dxe.io/meetupzoom](https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fdxe.io%2Fmeetupzoom%3Ffbclid%3DIwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAcGRvZgFicmlkETFnVWp5NEg1alFiR1FQcDAwc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHoE8C0t8heX7p8uDQKteZhkNVjiXfEdb_yto1Z9IZCI3_Ha40u193rFQ2h6k_aem_GLB6WSPch5A__RbHKOOMKw&h=AUA9QM2U-QbES-F71Kyo0efrbyl_dhauuxevb0Y3pMD_wDM049IfZwpVLAwofvqG41Uud3_iBVLIfnct2AYNSekTWjS2TynacxKEO0CWjIVnoka2DwxtL_NWoN_7Tn6sOuvgC2jInR8XAwWe7vS00sCYk1LEGUtY&tn=q&c%5B0%5D=AUBJskwk-Vsi3P-TXxN3ZfczxC8zSEupTK1F0qr8llZrUhI5Nk1yzlq5YwuK9nQuLtImxcsQRV0tUoem7BS1JJeO9opO99Ju0V9MbkQHFx3YB9gOBCPAb_Isgy3gaP9mvMKSQG12U5F95NzgS69evetqUd0qh0zFjSM)
Every Saturday at 11am we have Meetups for everyone and anyone who cares about animals and making the world a better place!

Learn more about our values here: [dxe.io/values](https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fdxe.io%2Fvalues%3Ffbclid%3DIwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAcGRvZgFicmlkETFnVWp5NEg1alFiR1FQcDAwc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHgc0cE2I2a3YLKpBt_e7xNhnLGHFayp_Aj2zcJy4dHphi4xdVOn98Vkgk08u_aem_4e6oiQmmSthqTmXHAVhDiw&h=AUAM58X8s5i-OlimFevR_1TKUwqFgLASyjgbbdTUA2rc9hwhukekJ_vgpR_A9F4_pBlpg5rq0sYcstVPxKSMyRttqAtnTrz9QgLwlPsdQ3n9VH1sW_dZRSNr30CsDq_PnC14YWc_KCbl7OPlIjnNQe1WWRsei6EE&tn=q&c%5B0%5D=AUBJskwk-Vsi3P-TXxN3ZfczxC8zSEupTK1F0qr8llZrUhI5Nk1yzlq5YwuK9nQuLtImxcsQRV0tUoem7BS1JJeO9opO99Ju0V9MbkQHFx3YB9gOBCPAb_Isgy3gaP9mvMKSQG12U5F95NzgS69evetqUd0qh0zFjSM)

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Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) is a grassroots network of animal rights activists. Through open rescue, demonstration, and disruption, we are creating a world where every animal is safe, happy and free.

DxE cultivates a welcoming and supportive community. We ask that all those who attend our events (online and offline) respect our Code of Conduct which can be reviewed at [dxe.io/conduct](https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fdxe.io%2Fconduct%3Ffbclid%3DIwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAcGRvZgFicmlkETFnVWp5NEg1alFiR1FQcDAwc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHsP9du9SVAF1ieiRJXl6dKcF906HPzjF40cm395Y_yqxiTWPR2-zImJv93ao_aem_jFRDiVfX-macl7bzQsR9sA&h=AUBiO019UBJ4Np3B-Wz16i8LqUztm9iFuhLsFKr8KAwbh7c8IWXs6xgb4VQSqRdm4_VYR1lGWx9X8YMCWck_gWh5F0X_NfC3wXcReySjx5LuXnMbBTwrYjePxal6kZcD1nfzno22GAW6H_EPsf-tJn96h66IBR-l&tn=q&c%5B0%5D=AUBJskwk-Vsi3P-TXxN3ZfczxC8zSEupTK1F0qr8llZrUhI5Nk1yzlq5YwuK9nQuLtImxcsQRV0tUoem7BS1JJeO9opO99Ju0V9MbkQHFx3YB9gOBCPAb_Isgy3gaP9mvMKSQG12U5F95NzgS69evetqUd0qh0zFjSM)

To learn about our vision, goals, strategy and more check out the San Francisco Bay Area chapter Activist Handbook here [dxe.io/handbook](https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fdxe.io%2Fhandbook%3Ffbclid%3DIwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAcGRvZgFicmlkETFnVWp5NEg1alFiR1FQcDAwc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHoE8C0t8heX7p8uDQKteZhkNVjiXfEdb_yto1Z9IZCI3_Ha40u193rFQ2h6k_aem_GLB6WSPch5A__RbHKOOMKw&h=AUD_Igo6uqA-dsAV3Ciu03lilDfDTaQa1LZ2BIEG5PkJlVjLzOHT0UTkEtE-SEJSWKaDEeS_sHM1Wy8hZ5jSUTxT_sUCNxntxI4M50D3vSdormt3Ecpre144ShhFIsbgJ8C9186uWUCUtEleEr7xzudsMbn8Q4Ac&tn=q&c%5B0%5D=AUBJskwk-Vsi3P-TXxN3ZfczxC8zSEupTK1F0qr8llZrUhI5Nk1yzlq5YwuK9nQuLtImxcsQRV0tUoem7BS1JJeO9opO99Ju0V9MbkQHFx3YB9gOBCPAb_Isgy3gaP9mvMKSQG12U5F95NzgS69evetqUd0qh0zFjSM)
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