At Dyrenes Alliance, we do activism on both individual and institutional levels—targeting individual consumers as well as large campaigns aimed at companies and public authorities.

Welfare Campaigns from an Abolitionist Perspective

At Dyrenes Alliance, we run campaigns to pressure companies and the state to improve conditions for animals. We engage in many forms of activism, like demonstrations, lobbying, opinion pieces, and leaflet distributions to raise awareness for our cause. In the animal rights movement, there's often a distinction between two types of activism: abolitionist activism ('abolitionism') and welfare activism ('welfare-ism').

Abolitionist activism is defined by its opposition to all forms of human exploitation of animals—including treating non-human animals as objects.

Welfare activism, on the other hand, focuses on raising welfare standards for animals oppressed within the animal industry through welfare campaigns.

Some abolitionist activists oppose welfare campaigns, arguing that attempts to improve welfare legitimize the exploitation of non-human animals in the animal industry—while some welfare activists criticize abolitionists for being too radical and counterproductive.

At Dyrenes Alliance, we believe these approaches do not exclude each other. That’s why we run welfare campaigns from an abolitionist perspective. We don’t see raising welfare standards or abolishing one type of animal captivity in favor of another as indicators of a just life for animals held captive, exploited, and killed—but we do believe welfare campaigns are among the most effective ways to reduce suffering in the animal industry. Through welfare campaigns targeting companies and government agencies, we work step by step to secure better, freer lives for animals—while being clear that our ultimate goal is the total liberation of all animals from human oppression.

Abolitionist Activism for Individual Change

At Dyrenes Alliance, we conduct consumer-focused activism to raise awareness about the oppression non-human animals endure in the animal industry. We also inspire people to try vegan alternatives—for example, through sample distributions or encouraging them to try VeganerUdfordringen. In this way, we inspire people to become vegan and live more empathetically and sustainably. Our activism for individual change is based on an abolitionist approach, where we seek to educate individuals to oppose the human exploitation of animals.