What Is Bird-dogging?
Bird-dogging is a tactic used by grassroots activists to get leaders on the record about important issues. Like protesting at in-district offices, only use bird-dogging for lawmakers who are against abortion rights.
Here's a prime bird-dogging example: Imagine you're at a lawmaker’s public event. You publicly ask the lawmaker to commit to a position on policy, and share a recording of your interaction on social media. That’s bird-dogging — a very helpful way to spread the word about an elected official's abortion rights stance.
Here’s the TL;DR of bird-dogging:
- Show up at a public event that your local member of Congress might attend or is confirmed to attend.
- Ask reproductive health questions about abortion rights; access to contraception; or access to IVF.
- Expose their unpopular position or make it clear they’re dodging reasonable questions from constituents.
- Record it on video.
- Get that video posted everywhere you can — from social media to local print, radio, and TV news.
Expressing your first amendment rights — including peaceful protest and demanding answers from elected officials — is critical to our democracy. That said, nothing on this website is intended to encourage, produce, or incite imminent lawless action. Before engaging in these tactics, be sure to understand and abide by all applicable laws.
Bird-dogging Step-by-Step
Recruit a Squad and Train Them:
Bird-dogging is best done with a group of people who can take on a variety of necessary roles. At the very least, you need two people to pull off a successful birddog — one person to take action and one person to record it.
An ideal crew has at least one person for each of the following roles.
- Question askers: These are the members of your group who are bold and assertive — who ALWAYS speak up and don’t let up until they’re satisfied with the answer.
- Recorders: These folks are diligent, good on their feet, and great at taking video.
- Social media manager(s): Choose someone who knows how to get your video seen.
- Trackers/researchers: These people know how to scour the web, social media platforms, local news sites, and city/town public events — and have all the best Google alerts set up — to track down where our leaders will be speaking publicly.
Find Opportunities to Bird-dog:
Your tracking and research team can search leaders’ websites, sign up for their newsletters, or call their local congressional or campaign office to ask about upcoming public events. Sometimes events are posted only a few days — or even hours — in advance.
Work with your trackers to create a rapid response bird-dog team that can mobilize quickly.
Research Your Elected Official:
There’s no shortage of questions to ask your elected official, but it’s always best to tailor them to each lawmaker.
Visit Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s Congressional scorecard to find out if your elected officials have voted recently on issues like abortion, contraception, gender affirming care and use their record to inform your approach.
Remember: only use bird-dogging to get lawmakers who are against abortion rights on the record.
Attend the Event and Get Them On the Record:
Be Calm and Reasonable: Remember, the goal is to expose abortion opponents' minority positions. Be direct and calm — we’re the reasonable ones, after all. If they dodge you or try to change the subject, politely ask the question again.
Arrive Early: You want to be as close as possible to where they’ll be speaking, so arrive early so you can figure out the best place to stand at the event.
Ask Your Question Right Away: Be prepared to ask as early as possible — there’s no telling if you’ll get a second opportunity.
Take Up Space: Elected officials love walking through crowds, shaking hands, and having short conversations. Be ready for these one-on-one opportunities – with your question and a cell phone to capture video. Put yourself in their path and make it hard for them to overlook you.
Spread Out Around the Venue in Pairs: Whenever possible, more than one person in your group should be prepared to ask a question and get it on video. Take every opportunity you can to get our leaders on the record about their anti-abortion positions.
Pro-Tip: Have one person ask the question and at least one other person video.
Record a Video: If there isn’t a video, it didn’t happen — it’s really that simple. Get as close as you can for a higher-quality shot and good audio from the exchange.
Post the Video Right Away: Don’t delay; post the video from the event quickly. After you ask your question and capture your video, leave and head to the internet to start sharing with the world.
Post Footage on Social Media and Share It With the Press:
Ideally, you should post the video content right after the event.
Explain where you were, what you asked, and what the elected official’s response was. Use #BansOffOurBodies so others within the movement can amplify you at the national level.
In your social media posts, try to get news coverage by tagging your local and regional news stations. Check your news station’s website video submission instructions and send it to news outlets directly.
Debrief and Brainstorm Other Ways to Use the Footage:
Once you’ve completed these steps, debrief with your group.
- How did it go?
- What would you have done differently?
- Is there another local opportunity to try again?
Then, decide on additional tactics (letters to the editor! Op-eds! A targeted media event!) that could make the most of what you captured on video.
For More Information:
See sample questions for bird-dogging at officials' town halls and other public appearances.