Humphrey Primatt (1734 – ) was an English clergyman and

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...

writer.Simons, John. (2002). ''Animals, Literature and the Politics of Representation''. Palgrave. pp. 39-41. "Humphry Primatt"

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

. Retrieved February 2, 2020. Primatt has been described as "one of the most important figures in the development of a notion of animal rights."

Biography

Primatt was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, in 1734. He obtained a BA in 1757 and MA in 1764 from

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded ...

. He was a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

clergyman. He was vicar of Higham (1766-1774) and rector of

Brampton Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#Lower-tier municipalities, lower-tier municipalit ...

(1771–1774). Primatt obtained a

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

from

Marischal College Marischal College ( ) is a large granite building on Broad Street in the centre of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland, and since 2011 has acted as the headquarters of Aberdeen City Council. However, the building was constructed for and is on long- ...

, in 1773. He married a Miss Gulliver on 2 October 1769 and retired in 1771 to

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...

Animal rights

In 1776, Primatt authored ''A Dissertation on the Duty of Mercy and Sin of Cruelty to Brute Animals'', which argued that all animals were created by God, so deserve humane treatment and that any form of cruelty to animals should be equated with

atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...

and

wickedness Wickedness is generally considered a synonym for evil or sinfulness. Among theologians and philosophers, it has the more specific meaning of a profound evil committed consciously and of free will. It can also be considered the quality or state o ...

. Primatt held that pain is evil and humans have no right to inflict it on animals or each other. He commented that "pain is pain, whether it be inflicted on man or on beast". It was one of the first books to argue for the compassionate treatment of animals and influenced the

animal welfare Animal welfare is the well-being of non-human animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures such as longevity ...

movement.Niven, Charles D. (1967). ''History of the Humane Movement''. Transatlantic Arts. p. 53 The

Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity operating in England and Wales that promotes animal welfare. The RSPCA is funded primarily by voluntary donations. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest and largest an ...

considers the book a "foundation stone" of their organization as it influenced the founders of their society.

Arthur Broome Arthur MacLoughlin Broome (18 February 1779 – 16 July 1837) was an English clergyman and campaigner for animal welfare. He was one of a group of creators of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) in 1824. Broome was ...

was inspired by Primatt's book and republished it in 1822.Bekoff, Marc. (2010). ''Encyclopedia of Animal Rights and Animal Welfare, 2nd Edition''. ABC-CLIO. pp. 484-485.

Henry Stephens Salt Henry Shakespear Stephens Salt (; 20 September 1851 – 19 April 1939) was an English writer and campaigner for social reform in the fields of prisons, schools, economic institutions, and the treatment of animals. He was a noted ethical vegeta ...

described it as a "quaint but excellent book".

Marc Bekoff Marc Bekoff (born September 6, 1945 in Brooklyn, NY) is an American biologist, ethologist, behavioural ecologist and writer. He was a professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado Boulder for 32 years. He cofounded ...

has noted that "Primatt was largely responsible for bringing animal welfare to the attention of the general public." Primatt did not promote

vegetarianism Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism may ...

.Puskar-Pasewicz, Margaret. (2010). ''Cultural Encyclopedia of Vegetarianism''. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 230. He suggested that man is permitted to kill animals for food but denied that this permits unnecessary suffering.

Selected publications

*'' A Dissertation on the Duty of Mercy and Sin of Cruelty to Brute Animals'' (1776)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Primatt, Humphrey 1734 births 1770s deaths 18th-century English Anglican priests Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge Clergy from London Doctors of Divinity English animal rights scholars Writers from London

Biography

Animal rights

Selected publications

See also

References