Muzzling a Movement: The Effects of Counterterrorism Law, Money, and Politics on Animal Activism, Revised & Updated Edition

Muzzling a Movement is an honest analysis of and reflections on the evolution of the animal rights movement over the past half decade. Featuring wisdom from activists spanning multiple generations, we learn what a newer generation of changemakers have implemented, leaving us to conclude that change doesn’t always mean progress.

Corporate greed and politics drive lawmakers to suppress the constitutional rights of animal-rights activists. Dara Lovitz offers in-depth analysis of the pertinent legislative history as well as legal cases against these activists, including the heavily publicized SHAC-7 case. She also highlights the experiential wisdom from activists of multiple generations as they reflect on the direction of today’s movement. The United States’ government and its legislators have spent an inordinate amount of energy, time, and money to enact laws whose sole purpose is to disenfranchise, silence, and weaken the animal rights movement. This updated version of the book offers a fresh look at ＂ag-gag legislation,＂ which are laws specifically designed to prevent the public from witnessing the horrors that take place behind the opaque walls of animal agriculture.

In addition to her exploration of the laws, money, and politics that attempt to silence the animal rights movement, Lovitz highlights wisdom from activists of multiple generations as they reflect on their activism and the activism of their different-aged compatriots. What have newer activists learned from the underground movement of the 1990s? What do the older activists think the younger activists are getting right? And what are they getting wrong? This comprehensive examination of the past, present, and future of animal rights activism seeks to bring us all closer to a cruelty-free world.

Dara Lovitz is a passionate activist who cares deeply about making the world a kinder place. She’s the author of four other books, professor of animal law at two law schools, a program attorney at a legal nonprofit organization, a presenter on various topics ranging from cognitive behavioral therapy to parenting, and cofounder of Peace Advocacy Network, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that promotes a peaceful existence through veganism, social justice, and respect for the Earth’s inhabitants and resources.