Una protesta senza movimento? L’animalismo in Italia e la centralità dell’advocacy individuale

The article investigates forms of organized interest for animal rights and wellbeing. The field consists in a variegated composition of individual and collective actors, quite different in terms of ideological values and action strategies. The author presents a historical overview of the phenomenon during the twentieth century. However, the main focus of the paper is on the present situation, and specifically on the importance assumed by the personal action frames and individual repertoires of contention. Through an online survey (704 responses) and 20 semi-structured interviews, the author frames animal advocacy within a number of typical characteristics of modernity, and especially the process of individualization. Considering these elements, the forms of protest and advocacy are widespread, while an actual movement identity is in crisis.