Commercial Law Commons^™

Collective Bargaining As A Dispute-Reduction Vehicle Accommodating Contrary Animal Welfare Agendas, Michael N. Widener

Michael N. Widener

Animal activists and animal enterprise managers share little common ground debating science and values. Activists are frustrated with the pace of improvements in animal welfare. Enterprise managers tire of activists’ increasingly threatening, urban-guerilla tactics. Meanwhile, legislation is ineffective to bring meaningful improvements to animal treatment or to stop activist civil disobedience-driven acts of property damage and public vilification of perceived animal “enemies.” Lawsuits filed to sanction a camp’s behavior tax patience and resources on both sides. Violence against persons appears imminent between the factions. This essay advocates implementing collective bargaining processes along certain animal enterprise sector lines to engage enterprise …