Abolitionism

This chapter explores the parallels between the eighteenth and nineteenth century abolitionist movement and the modern animal rights movement advocating for the abolition of animal exploitation. With the aim of raising awareness about the injustices suffered by animals and advancing the cause of their liberation, animal advocates highlight the striking resemblances between human enslavement and animal exploitation. This chapter argues that beyond comparison, it is legitimate to conceive animal exploitation as a form of slavery and the struggle against it as abolitionist. It begins by examining the definition and characteristics of slavery, followed by a section on the similarities in rhetoric, subjugation techniques, and strategies employed by both slaveholders and proponents of animal exploitation. The following section is devoted to examining whether animal exploitation is comparable to human slavery from a moral and political perspective. After recounting that nonhuman animals have an interest in freedom as non-domination and in being granted a status beyond mere property, this chapter proceeds to explore the similarities and differences between the two movements referred to as abolitionist. The final section addresses the objections raised against animal rights advocates using the analogy, ultimately affirming that these criticisms do not justify abstaining from employing the animal slavery and abolition terminology. In conclusion, this chapter emphasizes the importance of avoiding further marginalization of vulnerable groups and promoting solidarity between anti-speciesist and anti-racist struggles, jointly combatting the othering and inferiorization of both racialized people and nonhuman animals.