Giving Compass' Take:

• Toni Adleberg discusses four misconceptions about effective animal advocacy and explores animal welfare and advocacy work. 

• What are the ways that donors can get involved in animal advocacy work?

• Learn about the current state of farm animal advocacy.

Effective animal advocates (EAAs) are members of the effective altruism movement. They use reason and evidence to identify the most effective ways to help animals, and they act on that evidence.

A central component of EAA is the willingness to revise one’s views in light of new evidence. Perhaps because different EAAs may have different views about how to best advocate for animals, there seem to be many misconceptions about what effective animal advocacy is and what EAAs do.

Our respect for each individual life is precisely what motivates us to help more animals rather than fewer.

We think there are many great ways to advocate for animals! While much of our research is devoted to identifying the most effective charities and the most effective interventions, we recognize that the movement as a whole will likely be maximally effective if a diverse group of advocates and charities employ a wide range of interventions to help animals. Moreover, different advocates might have different passions and talents, and the movement will be most effective if advocates can find the roles that best suit them.

Some effective animal advocates (including advocates at many, but not all, ACE-recommended charities)1 prioritize farmed animal advocacy. “Prioritization” should not be confused with “caring.” EAAs can both prioritize farmed animal advocacy and care deeply about all animals.

We often hear animal advocates argue that it is wrong to make decisions based on the number of lives affected, because we should view animals as individuals rather than as numbers. Some argue that focusing on numbers will lead us to neglect the value of individual animals’ lives. For instance, some critics worry that our focus on helping farmed animals will lead us to neglect the value of individual animals in other circumstances.

Read the full article about effective animal advocacy by Toni Adleberg at Animal Charity Evaluators.