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Rain Without Thunder: The Ideology of the Animal Rights Movement Paperback – September 3, 1996

by Gary Francione (Author)

4.9 21 ratings

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Are "animal welfare" supporters indistinguishable from the animal exploiters they oppose? Do reformist measures reaffirm the underlying principles that make animal exploitation possible in the first place? In this provocative book, Gary L. Francione argues that the modern animal rights movement has become indistinguishable from a century-old concern with the welfare of animals that in no way prevents them from being exploited.

Francione maintains that advocating humane treatment of animals retains a sense of them as instrumental to human ends. When they are considered dispensable property, he says, they are left fundamentally without "rights." Until the seventies, Francione claims, this was the paradigm within which the Animal Rights Movement operated, as demonstrated by laws such as the Federal Humane Slaughter Act of 1958.

In this wide-ranging book, Francione takes the reader through the philosophical and intellectual debates surrounding animal welfare to make clear the difference between animal rights and animal welfare. Through case studies such as campaigns against animal shelters, animal laboratories, and the wearing of fur, Francione demonstrates the selectiveness and confusion inherent in reformist programs that target fur, for example, but leave wool and leather alone.

The solution to this dilemma, Francione argues, is not in a liberal position that espouses the humane treatment of animals, but in a more radical acceptance of the fundamental inalienability of animal rights.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In legal theory, Francione notes, "Animal welfare, unlike animal rights, rests on the notion that animals are property and that virtually every animal interest can be sacrificed in order to obtain `benefits' for people." Animal welfare is rather like "wise use"--i.e., eat animals, experiment on them, but try to avoid "unnecessary" suffering. As Francione says, "I do not think that we can meaningfully speak of legal rights for animals as long as animals are regarded as property." Francione follows his 1995 book, Animals, Property and the Law, with a scholarly, sometimes dense but generally compelling argument that the modern animal-rights movement is substantially one for animal welfare that ignores the question of whether animals have inherent rights. Even the more radical animal advocates dismiss the idea of rights as a utopian concept without immediate practical application. Discussing the dichotomy and the blurring of the issues, the book sometimes becomes redundant, both in its reiteration of the stands of prominent animal rights activists and in its analyses of definitions, legal and otherwise. The points of contention are multifaceted and occasionally confusing, but that complexity is clarified somewhat by the addition of imaginative anecdotes. As a Rutgers law professor and codirector of the Rutgers Animal Rights Law Center, Francione is clearly trying to affect public policy, but a more accessible book would have given him a better chance to affect public opinion as well.

Review

"Francione cogently argues that the Animal Liberation Movement, though using rights rhetoric and espousing the eradication of animal exploitation, actually represents a new, self-defeating welfarism because its tactics embody the animal welfare position. Consequently, the plight of animals is worse than it was twenty years ago."
―Choice

"[A] must-read for those teaching animal ethics and for any laboratory animal specialist wanting to obtain a deeper understanding of the Animal Rights Movement."
―Lab Animal

"Gary Francione's work is both refined and exhaustively documented. [He] makes a strong case for viewing the animal rights position as both realistic and practical.... This is, in itself, a major contribution to the literature and one that will change the course of debate over animals."
―Michael Fox, Professor of Philosophy, Australian National University, Faculty of Arts

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Temple University Press (September 3, 1996)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 269 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1566394619
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1566394611
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,047,088 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #782 in Animal Rights (Books)
- #14,392 in Biology of Animals
- #18,261 in Animal & Pet Care

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4.9 21 ratings

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Gary L. Francione

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Gary L. Francione is Distinguished Professor of Law and Nicholas deB. Katzenbach Scholar of Law and Philosophy at Rutgers University School of Law-Newark.

He received his B.A. in philosophy from the University of Rochester, where he was awarded the Phi Beta Kappa O'Hearn Scholarship that allowed him to pursue graduate study in philosophy in Great Britain. He received his M.A. in philosophy and his J.D. from the University of Virginia. He was Articles Editor of the Virginia Law Review.

After graduation, he clerked for Judge Albert Tate, Jr., United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and for Justice Sandra Day O'Connor of the United States Supreme Court. He was an associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York City before joining the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1984, where he was tenured in 1987. He joined the Rutgers faculty in 1989.

Professor Francione has been teaching animal rights and the law for more than 20 years, and he was the first academic to teach animal rights theory in an American law school. He has lectured on the topic throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, including serving as a member of the Guest Faculty of the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. He has been a guest on numerous radio and television shows. He is well known throughout the animal protection movement for his criticism of animal welfare law and the property status of nonhuman animals, and for his abolitionist theory of animal rights.

He is the author of numerous books and articles on animal rights theory and animals and the law, including Introduction to Animal Rights: Your Child or the Dog? (2000), Rain Without Thunder: The Ideology of the Animal Rights Movement (1996), Animals, Property, and the Law (1995), Vivisection and Dissection in the Classroom: A Guide to Conscientious Objection (with Anna E. Charlton) (1992), and Animals as Persons: Essays on the Abolition of Animal Exploitation (2007).

Professor Francione and his partner and colleague, Adjunct Professor Anna E. Charlton, started and operated the Rutgers Animal Rights Law Clinic/Center from 1990-2000, making Rutgers the first university in the United States to have animal rights law as part of the regular academic curriculum, and to award students academic credit not only for classroom work, but also for work on actual cases involving animal issues. Francione and Charlton represented without charge individual animal advocates, grassroots animal groups, and national and international animal organizations. Francione and Charlton currently teach a course on human rights and animal rights, and a seminar on animal rights theory and the law. Professor Francione also teaches courses on criminal law, criminal procedure, jurisprudence, and legal philosophy.

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Nadia

RAIN WITHOUT THUNDER

Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2017

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(Amazon editors: this is my last edit: please use this edit. thank you)

I highly recommend this book. Gary Francione, first true Rights Philosopher & law professor emerges into the scene as the KEY player of a deeply confusing animal rights movement. This book is a profoundly penetrating under-the-microscope examination & explanation of the modern animal movement--the current morass of the morally obscene animal welfare movement--meticulously dissected, analyzed & explained to the reader. What is not readily visible to our “naked eye” understanding of the movement, this book clearly brings into focus aspects even the experienced activist was not yet aware. Gary dissects in detail the moral aspects and he dissects in detail all of the practical aspects especially bringing into focus the property paradigm of nonhumans--how seriously & deeply entrenched they are & remain. He brilliantly ties these analyses into a real rights perspective--a very clear understanding of the current situation & what a true rights paradigm should reflect. All of the current organizations operate within the paradigm of oppression against the vulnerable which is the ideology of Welfare. Welfare does not recognize the inherent value of animals & they do not reject the status of animals as property or replaceable resources. Furthermore, all of them reject veganism as the moral baseline which is the minimal & least you can do as personal recognition & toward social recognition that sentient non humans have inherent value & are not replaceable resources. We have focused our attention on the "cruelty" aspect of exploitation. This is terribly wrong because it diverts our focus from the truth. In a world where the injustice & the violence of speciesism is in full force, and animals are property & things to use as humans see fit, we cannot trim & fix what is inherently unjust, violent & oppressive--it will remain unjust no matter how we try to correct it. The idea of creating a better humane exploitation is ludicrous & perverse & delusional. They are sentient, and as sentient beings they feel, have sensations similar to ours, they value their lives just as we do. Therefore, they are like us in every relevant respect. As moral agents, our empathy & reason dictate we owe sentient beings (at the very least) the same basic negative rights we have--the right NOT to be used as expendable resources. We need to change our focus from trying to fix the consequences or symptoms of the injustice of use toward rejecting the idea of use as inherently immoral. We need to create a new paradigm of justice for animals. We cannot continue with unjust speciesist campaigns that alienate our focus from the injustice of use & scatters our energies everywhere else except where it needs to be: on the injustice of use of sentient beings. Also speciesist campaigns naturally hinder the progression of rights. Gary explains the problems with the property paradigm in great detail. Once you finish this book you will have a very clear idea of what is going on. It took me a while to fully understand why single issue campaigns & violent imagery are harmful--really harmful to a true rights movement. Once it sinks in--and the sooner the better--then you can start cranking the wheel toward a movement of justice.

The only 2 observations I have is 1) with the part where he describes some legal changes: because this is so tricky to understand & eventually enact, I suggest just leaving this part alone for the most part. What needs to happen is the idea that animals have inherent value & should not be used as property items. Once this idea takes hold in our society, it will begin to change everything. Legal changes in their favor will come once the idea starts to take root. 2) he did not revise this book, so the term vegetarian is used often. I am sure he means vegan. He is not pro vegetarianism in the least. However strict vegetarian also means vegan. fyi Also there may be another instant where he changed his perspective & upgraded it. I remember him stating this at some point in time. I cannot identify that particular aspect in the book at this time, but if you go on his website & read his articles which are up-to-date & reflect his rights views, you should be fine. This is a book you should not pass by. It is a must read.

This book is a serious read. Please get it.

My heartfelt advice is to read all his books and visit his website where there are hundreds of essays. However do not stop there! The Legacy Of Pythagoras and There’s An Elephant In the Room are must visit Abolition sites. These are brilliant and capable scholars who have emerged into the rights/abolitionist scene. Please take advantage of this education. This is the first time in history that a real rights education philosophy has emerged and with it has emerged brilliant and capable scholars.

Another site to visit is Turbulence of Dreaming—vegan education site.

Moreover, There's an Elephant in the Room just came out with their latest article: "EVERY Picture Tells a Story." This is an excellent, outstanding article re: violent imagery in advocacy. Not even Gary could have done it better than this.

3 people found this helpful

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No Match

Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2023

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Mr. Francione Breaks down Animal Rights like no Body Else on the Planet. His work is powerful enough to lead anyone to veganism.

Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2012

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This book is marvelous. Gary Francione not only talks the talk, but walks the walk. As a fellow ethical vegan, I associate with him because the only way to stop animal abuse is to completely abolish ALL animal use. All the animal "rights" organizations might make some changes, like giving egg-laying chickens 2 more inches in their cages that they share with other chickens with not enough room to spread their wings or even stand up. If human animals were treated like non-human animals used in the food industry, entertainment industry, fur and leather industry and last, but not least, in laboratory experiments, this treatment would be considered torture. I not only recommend this book, but all of Gary Francione's books. If you truly love animals and are an ethical vegan already, you can become even more committed to the animals by spreading the word to abolish ALL use of non-human animals. By the way, stop throwing your money away by sending money to animal welfare organizations. There are more people eating meat today than ever before, and zoos, circuses, rodeos, etc. are not going anywhere because animals have no rights, very similar to slavery.

8 people found this helpful

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Stephen M Finn

Although a bit repetitive at times, this book gives ...

Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2014

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Although a bit repetitive at times, this book gives a formidable overview and intellectual discussion of animal rights and how it differs from animal welfare. The hypocrisies of various shibboleths of the latter are argued by the writer, Gary Francione, who is certainly one of the foremost proponents of animal rights in the world. The book is academic but is accessible for the lay person. It is hard-hitting as well as motivating. Although it was written some time ago, the arguments haven't become outdated but remain of current concern.

4 people found this helpful

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AZReader

Revolutionary

Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2015

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This treatise is so enlightening! The author explores the facts of animals' lives in our culture and how groups propose to help these poor creatures. He shows us why what most of us do (send money to so-called animal rights groups) is not only useless to mend the situation, but is counter-productive and does not lead to the betterment of animals' lives. Indeed, their lives have only become more horrific. We need to create a revolution based on the moral value of all creatures! Read it and learn - and ACT!

Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2015

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Gary is the best vegan author I know of. If you are interested in the ethics of animal rights and veganism then he is one of the best sources.

I highly recommend this book. A must-read for everybody, vegan or non-vegan.

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djs

Great book on animal rights/welfare

Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2017

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. Got it for dissertation

Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2015

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Excellent book very well written

One person found this helpful

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Carolyn

Excellent book. It's a must-read!

Reviewed in Canada on January 3, 2021

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As a vegan who advocates for animal rights, I have found this book to be very helpful.

In this book, the vegan scholar Gary Francione explains the theoretical and practical differences between animal welfare and animal rights. Although the modern animal advocacy movement often calls itself an "animal rights movement", often it is actually advancing what Francione refers to as a "new welfarist" agenda. "New welfarists" claim that we can work towards the abolition (or reduction) of animal exploitation by advocating for animal "welfare" laws (i.e. changes to the way that animals are exploited). However, as Francione points out, due to the property status of nonhuman animals, animal welfare reforms cannot lead to the abolition of animal use. He makes compelling arguments to explain how animal welfare serves to perpetuate animal exploitation by making animal exploitation more economically efficient and by making the public feel more comfortable with animal use. Instead of advocating for welfare reforms, we should educate the public about the need to abolish the property status of animals, and our primary tactic should be veganism and vegan education. We must be clear that veganism is a moral imperative if we want to have any hope of achieving animal liberation.

It's a fascinating book, filled with case studies of actual laws and events that took place in the animal rights movement prior to the 1996 publication date. It's also a classic of animal rights literature, so in that sense, it will never become outdated. Highly recommended.