The talk relies on an article by Emil Franzinelli that will appear in a few days in the German journal TIERBEFREIUNG (Animal Liberation).

The "animal rights movement" in Germany is disunited. Some complain about the fact that instead of a sense of a common goal there are a lot of quarrels, criticisms and even disruptions of events by other activists. Others voice discontent with an inflationary use of concepts like "animal rights" leading to a dilution of the movement`s profile. Welfarism is often uncritically subsumed under the heading of animal rights since welfarists also seek to improve the lives of nonhuman animals. Furthermore, there`s the conflict between reformist and abolitionist approaches to animal liberation.

In this situation, introducing the concept "modern animal advocacy movement" has many advantages. The idea is to create a kind of umbrella movement: several different movements with quite distinct principles and objectives could be subsumed under this heading. This strategy could help to reconcile quarrels and foster tolerance among people working for animals. Also, it would allow for clear demarcations between individual movements, protecting each from dilution.

We will present a suggestion as to which different individual movements could be distinguished within this animal advocacy movement. We hope to clarify some concepts and address some controversial issues without denigrating either side. The central question is: Is it possible and productive to establish the "modern animal advocacy movement" as an artificial umbrella movement? We think that this question can be discussed in regard to the international movement as well.