Chapter 3.7
Start an Animal Rights Group
Anyone can start being active for animal rights. You can be successful as a solo animal rights activist depending on the nature of your campaign and some examples are teacher, undercover investigator, speaker, chaplain, and information Worker (see the relevant entries). However, a group can sometimes be more effective than a soloist because:
- The public may take your activism more seriously if they see you are backed by a broad membership and consequently may give you more attention.
- Members contribute complementary skills and abilities that a singleton working alone lacks.
- A core of committed campaigners may share your burden and hard work.
- A group is a long-term entity that can outlive the comings and goings of its individual members.
Even if you start alone you may find others to pitch in. You are a nucleus for kindred spirits to gather around. Patience and perseverance are assets.
What to Do?
No one and no group can do everything. So chose a section of animal rights that interests you and that you are good at doing (see How to Start Your Activism for Animals), then hack away at it doggedly. An option would be to concentrate on where most animals are dying. Undoubtedly this would be factory farming or the mass extinction of wildlife (see Mass Extinction). But these two areas are so broad you would have to specialise somewhere within them.
You could pick out an aspect of animal rights that other activists neglect. An example is hair products. Many cosmetic and artists' paint brushes are made from animals, such as shaving brushes from badger hair and paint brushes from sable. Then there are bows of orchestral instruments, like the violin and cello. Most bows are strung with horse hair from horses killed in China, Mongolia and Canada. How the hair is obtained is a shady business because most people know nothing about it and the few who know won't tell. Hair is fur, usually of the courser kind, so your specialised niche would be this aspect of the fur trade (great if you are an artist, beautician or musician and wish to influence your colleagues).
Alternatively, your group could work independently by complementing a large animal activist organisation, perhaps under their banner. Just ask them.
Name & Logo
You could give your group a name and design a logo for it as a symbol of your group's individual identity. A well designed simple logo imparts a sense of common purpose and is good for morale - you can blazen it across your own promotional material, like T-shirts, badges and posters - and if you use letterhead paper it communicates a respectable image on your correspondence - all useful for influencing people.
Finding Members
Look for potential or fellow activists who feel as strongly committed as you do and might be keen to play a central role in a campaign. Query friends and acquaintances. Put up cards or leaflets on noticeboards (clubs, libraries, health shops, animal shops, charity shops and supermarkets). Produce a simple but professional-looking leaflet (see Leafleting); put down a campaign title, say what your campaign is about and give your contact address. You may want to hold a few initial meetings to attract people and acquire more members and should put this information about meetings in your notices. Ask potential members for more people you can approach and take the contact details of anyone who seems interested. Exchange ideas with people.
Unless you aim to work clandestinely your group should be loud and visible. People who hear about your campaign may join your group. Get into the public eye often. (See the entries News Media for Publicity and Internet for Animal Rights).
You may find it easier to persuade people to join you if your campaign is achievable and attainable in the near-term (shut down a fur shop). But perhaps your goal is big and long-term (abolish the fur trade)? Then split your long-term goal into segments and concentrate initially on the achievable and the attainable (shutting your local fur shop - see Picketing).
A Constitution?
Should your group have a constitution? A constitution is a set of rules that guides the efficient running of a group and settles disputes about how to do things. You do not need a constitution if your group consists of just a few close colleagues; concentrate on your mission, not on your administration. On the other hand, if you want a constitution, too much rule-making is a mistake that can restrict a group's growth and development. People who are 'rule happy' often err by making too many rules in an attempt to cover all eventualities.
However, if your group is large, internally truculent, or with an already growing jumble of rules to govern its members, then a constitution incorporating the rules in a simple yet formal way may be useful. A constitution may also be necessary to open a bank account for your group or for being recognised officially in some capacity.
Here is a simple 12-point formal constitution that your group could adopt and modify to suite its purpose.
Model Constitution
for an Animal Rights Group
- The Group shall be known as ... (hereafter called 'the Group').
- The purpose of the Group is ... Other activities furthering the purpose of the Group or for the Group's benefit shall be carried out from time to time as its members decide.
- The geographic area covered by the Group is mainly ... but activities may be undertaken elsewhere as decided by the members.
- The Group shall cooperate and exchange information with other bodies in similar fields, work in consultation with relevant individuals and organisations, and do such lawful things as are necessary to attain the Group's purpose.
- Membership of the Group shall be open to everyone engaged in and pledged to the Group's purpose.
- The Group shall hold regular meetings to discuss all aspects of its work. Meetings shall be fully publicised and all members shall be entitled to attend.
- Funds shall be raised when necessary for carrying out the purpose of the Group and shall be used as the members decide.
- There shall be an annual subscription to help pay necessary expenses. The subscription shall be determined at the members' meeting from time to time and at a rate that is considered adequate.
- When required, officers shall be appointed to conduct the administration of the Group. Officers shall include a Chair, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. They shall be in charge of the day to day running of the Group and shall be answerable to members at the Group's meetings.
- The Treasurer shall keep the accounts of the Group. Accounts shall be submitted for approval at least once a year at a members' meeting.
- If the Group shall cease to exist it will be decided by a majority vote at a group meeting. All assets after all bills are paid shall pass to a similar group or charity as the members decide at the meeting.
- This constitution may be amended only by consent of a majority of the members of the group.
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The Group Committee
If you are going in for a formally and rigorously organised group, it should have a number of officers, the members who run the group. These members are called the group's committee. If you wish your group to have a committee then its committee members should keep in touch by meeting every so often. Other interested members should also be able to attend these meetings. Three important posts of the committee are Chair (or Co-ordinator), Secretary and Treasurer.
The Chair is an administrator, responsible for conducting meetings, ensuring they are carried out properly and that order is maintained. Chairing meetings is a skill that improves with practice. The Chair may ultimately be responsible for group decisions and coordinates what all the members do.
The Secretary deals with the correspondence and office work, keeps records and minutes of meetings and writes the annual report. The Secretary implements the decisions of the group's committee and is responsible for the efficient day to day running of the group.
The Treasurer is responsible for the group's money and financial transactions. The Treasurer collects subscriptions, pays bills, keeps the accounting books and an eye on expenditure. Accurate financial accounts are essential to any large formally organised group; you need to know where the money is coming from and going to and how much you have at any time.
You may want other officers, such as a publicity officer, newsletter editor or liaison officer. But no group need have all these functionaries and one member can combine more than one function. Some responsibilities are best delegated temporarily rather than put an ineffective member permanently in charge of them.
Group Success or Failure
You will not want to set up a group for it to fall to pieces. Therefore paying attention to what can go wrong will pay dividends. Here are some functional tips about organising a group.
- Mission - Not Admin
- Be organised but not to the extent that bureaucracy takes over your group's reason for being. Use the simplest administration to make your group a going concern. Concentrate on the action.
- Know Where You Are Going
- Think through what you are going to do. Draw up an action plan (see Action Plan) to act as your practical guide.
- 20/80
- Any voluntary organisation generally consists of five percent activists and 95 percent members; activists do 95 per cent of the work. The familiar '20/80 rule' is more optimistic: 20 percent of members do 80 percent of the work. This is human nature and the way with voluntary organisations. So expect to do a lot of the work yourself. Most members may just turn up now and then.
- Burnout
- Beware of your personal drive burning out. No matter how enthusiastic you are now, constant work and stress may exhaust you. Burnout might happen in the far future, but watch out for when it comes. Better to work steadily and keep up a good average performance than to explode onto the scene only to extinguish yourself soon after. Should you get burnt out, take it easy, thoroughly get over it and then carry on. This applies to anyone getting burn out in your group.
- Membership Demands
- Will you require that prospective members adopt a certain lifestyle before they join your group, that they be vegetarians, vegans or suchlike? You might not want to scare them away but let them adapt in their own time. Then you will have more members and they will be more animal-friendly.
- Assign Tasks
- The continuation of any group of activists depends on finding more active members. When new people turn up, make them feel wanted and involved. Make sure everyone who really wants something to do has something to do.
- Contact
- You stand to lose contact with your members if you do not see each other reasonably frequently. The longer you delay face to face meetings the greater the likelihood of your membership leaking away. A less forceful alternative to meeting in the flesh is sending out emails, meeting online by video, or phoning.
- Top Heavy
- A big group is not necessarily better than a small one. It is not the vastness of your group that counts but what it accomplishes. If you have many members you could divide them into core activists and a general membership. Communicate with all, but work primarily with your 'shock troop' core.
- Small Victories Count
- Animal rights opponents sometimes succeed in a conflict because they are well established and therefore, simply by carrying on in the same old way, can hold-out longer than you . They can ignore you and depend on you becoming discouraged and giving up. Therefore you may well need victories from time to time to keep up your member's spirits or they might desert you as a no-hoper and your group will crash. So break down your long-term tasks into small achievable steps you can win. And when you win a small victory let everyone know about it.
- Be Dispensable
- Efficient managers are dispensable. They can leave their business and relax knowing they will run smoothly in their absence. If you can do this with your group it show how competent you are. So share responsibilities among your group members. Coach members who are willing and able to take over in your absence. Some members could at least be familiar with the work of the group's officers so that any sudden officer vacancy can be taken over by someone else.
- Pleasing Everyone
- You cannot please everyone all of the time; if you try you will be seen as a weak leader and your group may fail. Be polite and firm, make the best decisions you can and expect to be wrong sometimes.
- Participation
- Encourage members to contribute their views and fully take part in the group. Act on their suggestions and let them feel valued members, otherwise you could lose them.
- Friction
- Fiction within the group may crop up. If you leave friction unresolved it may tear your group apart. Recognise you have a problem and discuss it openly in a friendly, non-confrontational way.
- Positive Criticism
- Criticise assertions, arguments or acts but not the individuals behind them. Be on good terms with everyone you disagree with and make sure they know you are not attacking them personally.
- Diplomacy
- If people come to hate you they may turn a blind eye and deaf ear to what you represent and you will make no headway with them. Cultivate good relations within - as well as outside - your group: diplomacy and good humour are always valuable.
- Fun
- No matter the seriousness of your issue, and without being frivolous, take time for your group to have some fun and enjoy activism. Fun reduces stress. With salubrious humour your group will last longer. Socialising can add an extra dimension and enjoyment for many members and make the difference between keeping members and losing them.
- Think Ahead
- It is vital for the continuity of your group to keep an eye open for potential leaders. Groom them to take over for when the time comes, such as when you step down (no one lasts forever). You should do this even before you think of quitting or at least a few months before you intend to go. All your efforts setting up the group and making it work efficiently will go to waste if the group perishes for want of good leadership when you are gone. You can derive great satisfaction knowing that your work will outlast you.
In summary, make animal rights not admin your target; expect to do most work yourself; watch out for burnout; beware of making membership stipulations; keep members busy; meet every so often; productivity not size matters; motivate troops with achievements on the road to victory; be a dispensable manager; share responsibility with other members; encourage members to participate fully; criticise the act/argument not the person; make decisions without trying to please everyone; recognise internal friction and deal with it; be diplomatic; have fun; prepare future leaders.
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