This thesis makes an original contribution to knowledge by exploring parliamentary left and anarchistic approaches to animal advocacy using a Critical Animal Studies (CAS) framework. This is significant because CAS is a field of scholarship which developed in order to theoretically support animal activists; nonetheless, in its focus on direct action and its rejection of reformist politics, CAS has too often ignored the legislative developments which are extremely important to most animal activists. Therefore, this thesis makes an overarching claim that CAS scholarship should treat the relationship between direct action and legislative reform more seriously. This thesis considers the relationship between direct action activists and legislative politics and as such makes a useful contribution to both CAS and wider animal rights scholarship. More broadly, the thesis provides a particularly useful assessment of one social movement at a time of rapidly changing moral, political and activist landscapes as Britain enters a new ‘age of dissent'.

Dans un contexte d’intérêt croissant pour le véganisme en Occident, cette recherche exploratoire se propose de brosser le portrait des acteurs collectifs du mouvement végane québécois. Loin d’être une pratique individuelle seulement, le véganisme est porté, au Québec, par différents groupes (groupes de base, organisations à but non lucratif et organismes de charité) qui défendent aussi bien les droits des animaux que la nécessité de se tourner vers une alimentation végétale pour la santé et l’environnement. À l’aide d’une analyse de réseaux, nous définirons, sur le plan organisationnel, la configuration du mouvement et ses frontières, montrant la présence d’une structure fragmentée. La recherche se proposera par la suite de cerner les éléments constitutifs de l’identité collective du mouvement, qui repose sur une idée revendiquée plus ou moins frontalement : l’abolition de l’exploitation animale. Cette identité s’incarne dans des actions diverses, non violentes et la plupart du temps légales, qui ciblent tant la culture dominante, c’est-à-dire la consommation normalisée de produits animaux, que les sphères politiques et juridiques, malgré l’absence relative du mouvement dans l’arène politique conventionnelle. / In the context of growing interest in veganism and animal advocacy in Western countries, the research focuses on the current vegan movement in Quebec. Far from being only an individual-level practice, veganism in Quebec is led by collective actors such as grassroots groups, non-profit organizations and charities. These organizations both advocate for animal rights and promote a plant-based diet for health and environmental reasons. We will define the movement’s structure and boundaries at an organizational level, using network analysis, and showing a fragmented structure. The research will then assess some constituent parts of the movement’s collective identity, centered around abolishing animal exploitation. This collective identity is embodied in various non-violent and often legal actions targeting dominant culture (i.e., the normalized consumption of animal products) and the legal and political spheres. Yet, the movement is still relatively absent on the conventional political scene.