Home  Chapter Sections  1. Introduction  2. Campaigning  3. Civil Disobedience  4. Direct Action  5. Action Planning  6. Lobbying  7. Picketing  8. Starting a Group  9. Publicity  10. Leafleting  11. News Media  12. Internet

How to Do Animal Rights - and Win the War on Animals Chapter 3 Campaigning Methods 7. Picketing Picketing is a form of demonstration and protest that interest groups employ in a dispute to make their demands accepted by an opposing party. Picketing in animal rights is often about gathering in a small group outside a company’s premises to protest the company's actions and demand change. The picketing protesters might harm the company by alerting the company’s patrons and the wider public about its misdeeds and persuade as many people they can not to enter the premises. If the company does not handle the situation deftly it risks trade disruption, a tarnished public image and a loss of business standing. An animal rights activists might picket: A retail store - to stop selling fur. A fast food restaurant - to stop selling burgers. A restaurant or shop - to stop selling foie gras or veal. A supermarket - to stop selling eggs from caged hens. A breeding farm for animals - to stop breeding animals for use in experiments. A laboratory - to stop doing tests on animals. A seaport or airport - to stop importing or exporting live animals. The head office of a cargo company - to stop handling animals for trade. An example of a successful picket by animal rights protesters was the closing down of a fur shop, Schumacher Furs, in Portland, Oregon (1). After over a century of doing business the owner said he could no longer endure the sidewalk picketing protests of the “terrorists”, despite a police presence and occasional arrest of demonstrators. The owner said the protesters menaced him and his family and he also had bomb threats. His hand written placard on display in the shop window read: “All protesters should be! –beaten –strangled -skinned alive -anally electrocuted” (sic). Animal Rights Picketing is Like Industrial Picketing Picketing is best known as a recognised form of action in industrial disputes. As such it shares many similarities with picketing for animal rights. In industrial picketing disputing workers stand outside their works forming a 'picket line' at the entrance. They may try to persuade workers who are not taking part in the dispute not to go to work as usual, prevent replacement workers from entering the works, and prevent access to the works by their employer's suppliers. Industrial picketing is legal if carried out according to certain rules, among them are that you must: Picket peacefully. Not threaten anyone or cause damage. Not obstruct people entering or leaving the premises. Confine picketing to the employer's workforce. Not engage in secondary picketing. Secondary picketing is when you picket places not directly connected with your issue. You might picket outside the premises of your employer's suppliers, aiming to persuade the supplier's workers not to deliver goods to your employer. In some countries secondary picketing is illegal. However, a primary difference between industrial picketing and animal rights picketing is that the former is part of the industrial sector and governed by specific law. Animal rights picketing is a form of public demonstration and handled differently by the authorities. How to Picket The first thing to consider is that picketing takes time, effort and tenacity because it is a long-haul objective (could take months or years). Therefore you must have high motivation to begin and sufficient impetus to carry you through. So, before you decide to go picketing, first try other means of persuading your target to comply with your proposals. Only picket your target when all else has failed to make them move. Otherwise, zero in on your target, such as a shop, restaurant, or a company head office. Ideally, it should be within easy reach of your fellow picketers and have many patrons and passers-by you can influence in favour of your proposition. And you must be easily visible to the public for them to see clearly what is going on. The more people you can influence the more quickly your picket may have effect. You must also be able to picket and demonstrate freely in front of your target. Think again if your target is in some kind of restricted area, such as private land with limited rights of access. How many fellow volunteer picketers do you need to go picketing? You may be able to accomplish everything with just a few supporters, and, in any case, too many picketers may draw unwanted police attention. You may want to keep the number of your picketers to not much more than half a dozen. What hours will you picket? You cannot picket 24 hours a day. Find out your target's peak activity period and concentrate your picketing during that time. Try to keep to definite hours and days for picketing so that volunteer pickets know when to turn up; it will avoid dampening their enthusiasm should they turn up at some time and find no one around. Your picket will be more effective if you: Stage frequent picketing sessions. Hand out leaflets and brochures to passers-by and display hand-held placards. Play a musical instrument (preferably a loud one – get a bagpipe player or drummer) to attract attention. Chant short messages to draw attention to yourselves and tell people what you are about. Dress up in animal suites and create a fitting tableau for the public to behold. You will also want to know your legal rights (they differ from one country to another) so that you can stand your ground if challenged with or by the law. You should also ensure that you picket much like your industrial counterparts in that you: Comply with any police instructions. Act reasonably and politely with passers-by. Do not use threatening language and gestures. Do not trespass. Check your national and local laws. How must you adapt to stay legal, eg keep moving, not use a megaphone, not block entrances? Consider: Do you need any permits? Can you picket anywhere? Some places have restrictions or may be private. What is the legal maximum number of picketers? Too many may be illegal. Where can you position you picket? You must not obstruct certain places, like the highway or entrances. What constitutes an obstruction? Blocking people from freely going about their business? Can you set up a table on site with literature and erect banners? What legal authority might the people you are picketing have? You do not want to feel intimidated by them with the law. How might your target harass you? Might they hire private security? What powers do the police and any private security guards have? Under what circumstances can they tell you to pack up and leave? If you are ordered to move on, can you set up at another site close by? Remember that companies being picketed can hit back at a picket by seeking an injunction from a court of law. An injunction can ban you from picketing in certain areas, limit the number of your picketers and put restrictions on their behaviour (like stopping them shouting abuse). A company might be more likely to win an injunction if picketers are intimidating, violent or in some other way overly anti-social. Animal rights activists set up a picket outside Oxford University's new unfinished multi-million pound animal experiment laboratory. The protesters were seen as noisy and violent by many and in 2004 the University won an injunction against them. The injunction imposed exclusion zones where demonstrating, picketing and loitering were legally banned: from around the building site and from around the property of contractors and the homes of people connected with the work. Picketing works, as Schumacher Furs found out. Examine the issues thoroughly and chose your target with care. References (1) Local News. 29 November 2006. www.kgw.com. (Accessed March 2007.) How to Do Animal Rights - and Win the War on Animals. © Roger (Ben) Panaman, April 2008. All rights reserved.