Women and animal advocacy
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Women have played a central role in animal advocacy since the 19th century. The animal advocacy movement – embracing
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 ...
,
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 ...
, and anti-vivisectionism – has been disproportionately initiated and led by women, particularly in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. Women are more likely to support animal rights than men.Signal, Tania; Taylor, Nicola. (2006). "Attitudes to Animals: Demographics Within a Community Sample". ''Society & Animals'', 14:2, pages 147–157. doi:10.1163/156853006776778743 A 1996 study of adolescents by Linda Pifer suggested that factors that may partially explain this discrepancy include attitudes towards
feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
and science, scientific literacy, and the presence of a greater emphasis on "nurturance or compassion" amongst women. Although
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 ...
does not necessarily imply animal advocacy, a 1992 market research study conducted by the Yankelovich research organization concluded that "of the 12.4 million people
n the US N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...
who call themselves vegetarian, 68% are female, while only 32% are male".


History


Pre-1800s

In 1392
Eleanor of Arborea Eleanor of Arborea or Eleanor De Serra Bas ( Sardinian: Elianora de Arbarée / Elianora De Serra Bas, Italian: Eleonora d'Arborea / Eleonora De Serra Bas; 1347— June 1404) was one of the most powerful and important, and one of the last, judges ...
, Queen (''Juighissa'') and national heroine of
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
, under the jurisdiction conferred by the Carta de Logu became the first ruler in history to grant protection to hawk and falcon nests against illegal hunters.
Eleonora's falcon Eleonora's falcon (''Falco eleonorae'') is a medium-sized falcon. It belongs to the hobby group, a rather close-knit number of similar falcons often considered a subgenus ''Hypotriorchis''. The sooty falcon is sometimes considered its closest re ...
(''Falco eleonorae'') was later named after her. Women and animals were often considered equally irrational and inferior in the past. When the British author
Mary Wollstonecraft Mary Wollstonecraft (, ; 27 April 1759 – 10 September 1797) was a British writer, philosopher, and advocate of women's rights. Until the late 20th century, Wollstonecraft's life, which encompassed several unconventional personal relationsh ...
wrote ''
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman ''A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: with Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects'' (1792), written by British philosopher and women's rights advocate Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797), is one of the earliest works of feminist philosop ...
'' in 1792, British philosopher Thomas Taylor responded anonymously in the same year with ''A Vindication of the Rights of Brutes'', in which he claimed that arguments for the oppression or liberation of women applied equally well to animals, intending it as a ''
reductio ad absurdum In logic, (Latin for "reduction to absurdity"), also known as (Latin for "argument to absurdity") or ''apagogical arguments'', is the form of argument that attempts to establish a claim by showing that the opposite scenario would lead to absu ...
'' of Wollstonecraft's position.Sunstein, Cass R
The Chimps' Day in Court
''The New York Times'', February 20, 2000.


1800s

Many of the major British animal advocacy groups founded in the late 1800s and early 1900s, all regarded as radical in their time, were founded by women, including the Battersea Dogs' Home ( Mary Tealby, 1860), the
National Anti-Vivisection Society The National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS) is an international not-for-profit animal protection group, based in London, working to end animal testing, and focused on the replacement of animals in research with advanced, scientific techniques. S ...
(
Frances Power Cobbe Frances Power Cobbe (4 December 1822 – 5 April 1904) was an Anglo-Irish writer, philosopher, religious thinker, social reformer, anti-vivisection activist and leading women's suffrage campaigner. She founded a number of animal advocacy group ...
, from Ireland, 1875; it is the world’s first anti-vivisection organization), the
British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection Cruelty Free International is an animal protection and advocacy group that campaigns for the abolition of all animal experiments. They organise certification of cruelty-free products which are marked with the symbol of a leaping bunny. It wa ...
(Frances Power Cobbe, from Ireland, 1898), and the British
Animal Defence and Anti-Vivisection Society The Animal Defence and Anti-Vivisection Society (ADAVS) was an animal rights advocacy organisation, co-founded in England, in 1903, by the animal rights advocates Lizzy Lind af Hageby, a Swedish-British feminist, and the English peeress Nina Do ...
(
Lizzy Lind af Hageby Emilie Augusta Louise "Lizzy" Lind af Hageby (20 September 1878 – 26 December 1963) was a Swedish-British feminist and animal rights advocate who became a prominent anti- vivisection activist in England in the early 20th century. Born t ...
, from Sweden, and
Nina Douglas-Hamilton, Duchess of Hamilton Nina Mary Benita Douglas-Hamilton, Duchess of Hamilton (née Nina Mary Benita Poore; 13 May 1878 – 12 January 1951) was an English peeress and animal rights activist. Early life Douglas-Hamilton was born on 13 May 1878 in Nether Wallop, Hamp ...
, 1903.) In 1867 the American philanthropist
Caroline Earle White Caroline White ( Earle; 1833–1916) was an American philanthropist and anti-vivisection activist. She co-founded the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PSPCA) in 1867, founded its women's branch (WPSPCA) in 1869, and f ...
co-founded the
Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Mar ...
; she also founded its women's branch in 1869.Buettinger, Craig
"Women and antivivisection in late nineteenth century America"
''Journal of Social History'', Vol. 30, No. 4 (Summer, 1997), pp. 857-872.
The women's branch of the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, also known as the Women’s Humane Society and the Women’s Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals or WPSPCA, opened America’s first animal shelter in 1869. WPSPCA successfully passed the Twenty-eight Hour Law in 1871, a mandate that required railway companies to provide facilities to feed, water and rest animals in transit every 28 hours. Immediately WPSPCA sent agents to assess the railways’ adherence and prosecute any offenders. In 1896 the
Reading Railroad The Reading Company ( ) was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and commercial rail transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states that operated from 1924 until its 1976 acquisition by Conrail. Commonly call ...
was charged with transporting a shipment of horses for 52 hours without food or water. The railroad was found guilty and the Reading officials were charged $200, setting an important precedent. White viewed the 28-hour law as the crowning achievement of her life. White also founded the
American Anti-Vivisection Society The American Anti-Vivisection Society (AAVS) is an organization created with the goal of eliminating a number of different procedures done by medical and cosmetic groups in relation to animal cruelty in the United States. It seeks to help the be ...
(the first anti-vivisection organization founded in the United States) in 1883. In 1909 WPSCA, along with other city humanitarians, secured legislation forbidding the sale or purchase of disabled work horses. In 1875, Catherine Smithies founded the first Band of Mercy, which promoted teaching children kindness towards non-human animals and led to the Bands of Mercy movement. In 1877 Anna Sewell's ''
Black Beauty ''Black Beauty: His Grooms and Companions, the Autobiography of a Horse'' is an 1877 novel by English author Anna Sewell. It was composed in the last years of her life, during which she was bedridden and seriously ill.Merriam-Webster (1995). ...
'', the first English novel to be written from the perspective of a non-human animal, spurred concern for the welfare of horses. Although the book is now considered a children's classic, Sewell originally wrote it for those who worked with horses. She said "a special aim was to induce kindness, sympathy, and an understanding treatment of horses". In many respects the book can be read as a guide to horse husbandry, stable management and humane training practices for colts. It is considered to have had an effect on reducing cruelty to horses; for example, the use of bearing reins, which are particularly painful for a horse, was one of the practices highlighted in the novel, and in the years after the book's release the reins became less popular and fell out of favor. In 1878-1879, responding to the moderate positions taken by the German animal protection organizations on
animal experimentation Animal testing, also known as animal experimentation, animal research, and ''in vivo'' testing, is the use of non-human animals in experiments that seek to control the variables that affect the behavior or biological system under study. This ...
, Marie Espérance von Schwartz and two men began to form a dedicated anti-vivisection movement in Germany. In 1879 the anti-vivisectionists clashed with moderate animal protectionists at the German Animal Protection Congress, leading von Schwartz and one of the men to found the International Society for Combat Against Scientific Torture of Animals. In 1880, the English feminist
Anna Kingsford Anna Kingsford (; 16 September 1846 – 22 February 1888), was an English anti-vivisectionist, vegetarian and women's rights campaigner. She was one of the first English women to obtain a degree in medicine, after Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, an ...
became one of the first English women to graduate in medicine, after studying for her degree in Paris, and the only student at the time to do so without having experimented on animals. She published ''The Perfect Way in Diet'' (1881), advocating vegetarianism, and was also vocal in her opposition to animal experiments. In 1883
Caroline Earle White Caroline White ( Earle; 1833–1916) was an American philanthropist and anti-vivisection activist. She co-founded the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PSPCA) in 1867, founded its women's branch (WPSPCA) in 1869, and f ...
founded the
American Anti-Vivisection Society The American Anti-Vivisection Society (AAVS) is an organization created with the goal of eliminating a number of different procedures done by medical and cosmetic groups in relation to animal cruelty in the United States. It seeks to help the be ...
, which was the first anti-vivisection organization founded in the United States. In 1889 in England, the Plumage League was founded by
Emily Williamson Emily Williamson (''née'' Bateson; 17 April 1855 – 12 January 1936), was an English philanthropist. She was co-founder of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) with Eliza Phillips in 1891. The society started as the Plumage ...
, at her house, as a protest group campaigning against the use of
great crested grebe The great crested grebe (''Podiceps cristatus'') is a member of the grebe family of water birds noted for its elaborate mating display. Taxonomy The great crested grebe was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in t ...
and
kittiwake The kittiwakes (genus ''Rissa'') are two closely related seabird species in the gull family Laridae, the black-legged kittiwake (''Rissa tridactyla'') and the red-legged kittiwake (''Rissa brevirostris''). The epithets "black-legged" and "red-l ...
skins and feathers in
fur clothing Fur clothing is clothing made from the preserved skins of mammals. Fur is one of the oldest forms of clothing, and is thought to have been widely used by people for at least 120,000 years. The term 'fur' is often used to refer to a specific i ...
. Also in 1889 the Fur, Fin and Feather Folk (an animal rights group) was founded in England by
Eliza Phillips Eliza Phillips (''née'' Barron; 1823 – 18 August 1916) was an English animal welfare activist and co-founder of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. She was the RSPB's vice president and publications editor. Biography Early life an ...
,
Etta Lemon Margaretta "Etta" Louisa Lemon ( Smith; 22 November 1860 – 8 July 1953) was an English bird conservationist and a founding member of what is now the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). She was born into an evangelical Chr ...
, Catherine Hall, Hannah Poland and others. The groups gained in popularity and amalgamated in 1891 to form the Society for the Protection of Birds in London. The Society gained its Royal Charter in 1904. The original members of the Society were all women who campaigned against the fashion of the time for women to wear exotic feathers in hats, and the consequent encouragement of "
plume hunting Plume hunting is the hunting of wild birds to harvest their feathers, especially the more decorative plumes which were sold for use as ornamentation, such as aigrettes in millinery. The movement against the plume trade in the United Kingdom w ...
". In 1896 the
Massachusetts Audubon Society The Massachusetts Audubon Society, commonly known as Mass Audubon, founded in 1896 by Harriet Hemenway and Minna B. Hall and headquartered in Lincoln, Massachusetts, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to "protecting the nature of Massachusett ...
(Mass Audubon) was founded by
Harriet Hemenway Harriet Lawrence Hemenway (1858–1960) was a Boston socialite who cofounded the Massachusetts Audubon Society with Minna B. Hall. Hemenway was the wife of Augustus Hemenway. During the Gilded Age, it became fashionable for women to wear hats ...
and
Minna B. Hall Minna B. Hall (1860 – 24 July 1951) was an American socialite and environmentalist. Her most notable achievements include the co-founding of the Massachusetts Audubon Society and the ratification of the Weeks-McLean Act by the US Congress. T ...
. Women played a critical role in the organization, counting for half of its officers and serving as leaders of most of the local chapters. The group used its political power to have a Massachusetts law passed in 1897 outlawing trade in wild bird feathers as well as a federal law, the 1900
Lacey Act The Lacey Act of 1900 is a conservation law in the United States that prohibits trade in wildlife, fish, and plants that have been illegally taken, possessed, transported, or sold.United States. Lacey Act (Game). , ch. 553. Approved May 25, 1900. ...
, which prohibits the interstate shipment of animals killed in violation of local laws. The Massachusetts Audubon Society remains independent, but it helped to organize the National Association of Audubon Societies (incorporated in 1905), which later became the
National Audubon Society The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such organ ...
. British political scientist
Robert Garner Robert Garner is a British political scientist, political theorist, and intellectual historian. He is a Professor Emeritus in the politics department at the University of Leicester , where he has worked for much of his career. Before working at ...
writes that 70 percent of the membership of the Victoria Street Society (one of the anti-vivisection groups founded by Frances Power Cobbe; it was founded in 1875) were women, as were 70 percent of the membership of the British
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 a ...
in 1900.


1900s

The British
Animal Defence and Anti-Vivisection Society The Animal Defence and Anti-Vivisection Society (ADAVS) was an animal rights advocacy organisation, co-founded in England, in 1903, by the animal rights advocates Lizzy Lind af Hageby, a Swedish-British feminist, and the English peeress Nina Do ...
came to widespread attention during the
Brown Dog affair The Brown Dog affair was a political controversy about vivisection that raged in Britain from 1903 until 1910. It involved the infiltration of University of London medical lectures by Swedish feminists, battles between medical students and th ...
(1903–1910), which began when
Lizzy Lind af Hageby Emilie Augusta Louise "Lizzy" Lind af Hageby (20 September 1878 – 26 December 1963) was a Swedish-British feminist and animal rights advocate who became a prominent anti- vivisection activist in England in the early 20th century. Born t ...
infiltrated the
vivisection Vivisection () is surgery conducted for experimental purposes on a living organism, typically animals with a central nervous system, to view living internal structure. The word is, more broadly, used as a pejorative catch-all term for experiment ...
in University College London of a brown terrier dog. The subsequent description of the experiment in her book, ''The Shambles of Science'' (1903) — in which she wrote that the dog had been conscious throughout and in pain – led to a protracted scandal and a libel case, which the accused researcher won. The affair however continued for several years, making a name both for Lind af Hageby and for the society.
Kean, Hilda Hilda Kean (born August 1949) is a British historian who specialises in public and cultural history, and in particular the cultural history of animals. She is former Dean and Director of Public History at Ruskin College, Oxford, and an Honora ...

"The 'Smooth Cool Men of Science': The Feminist and Socialist Response to Vivisection"
''History Workshop Journal'', 1995, 40: 16–38.
Australian writer and academic
Coral Lansbury Coral Magnolia Lansbury (14 October 1929 – 3 April 1991) was an Australian-born feminist writer and academic. Working in the United States from 1969 until her death, she became Distinguished Professor of English and Dean of Graduate Studies at ...
writes that the suffragist movement in the United Kingdom became closely linked with the anti-
vivisection Vivisection () is surgery conducted for experimental purposes on a living organism, typically animals with a central nervous system, to view living internal structure. The word is, more broadly, used as a pejorative catch-all term for experiment ...
movement. Writing about the
Brown Dog affair The Brown Dog affair was a political controversy about vivisection that raged in Britain from 1903 until 1910. It involved the infiltration of University of London medical lectures by Swedish feminists, battles between medical students and th ...
, she argues that the iconography of vivisection struck a chord with women. The vivisected dog muzzled and strapped to the operating board, she argues, was a symbolic reminder of the suffragette on
hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...
restrained and force-fed in
Brixton Prison HM Prison Brixton is a local men's prison, located in Brixton area of the London Borough of Lambeth, in inner-South London. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. History The prison was originally built in 1820 and opened a ...
, as well as women strapped into the gynaecologist's chair by their male doctors, for childbirth, for sterilization, as a cure for "
hysteria Hysteria is a term used colloquially to mean ungovernable emotional excess and can refer to a temporary state of mind or emotion. In the nineteenth century, hysteria was considered a diagnosable physical illness in women. It is assumed that ...
", and as objects of study by male medical students. Lansbury, Coral. ''The Old Brown Dog: Women, Workers, and Vivisection in Edwardian England''. The University of Wisconsin Press, 1985, pp. x and 24. In 1927,
Jessey Wade Jessey Wade (2 December 1859 – 1952) was an English suffragist and campaigner for animal welfare, known for founding the Cats Protection League (now known as Cats Protection). She co-founded a number of other animal welfare organisations and he ...
founded the
Cats Protection League Cats Protection, formerly the Cats Protection League, is a UK charity dedicated to rescuing and rehoming stray, unwanted or homeless cats and educating people about cats and cat welfare. The organisation was founded as the Cats Protection Leag ...
. In the same year, she co-founded the League for the Prohibition of Cruel Sports and in 1932, the National Society for the Abolition of Cruel Sports. The
Vegan Society Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. D ...
, a
registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ch ...
and the oldest vegan society in the world, was founded in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
in November 1944 by Dorothy Watson and her husband
Donald Watson Donald Watson (2 September 1910 – 16 November 2005) was an English animal rights advocate who co-founded The Vegan Society. Early life Watson was born in Mexborough, Yorkshire, the son of a headmaster in a mining community. As a child, Watso ...
, along with four friends — Elsie Shrigley, Fay K. Henderson and her husband G.A. Henderson among them. The founding of the Vegan Society is celebrated annually on 1 November,
World Vegan Day World Vegan Day is an annual event celebrated by vegans around the world every 1 November. The benefits of veganism for animals, humans and the natural environment are celebrated through activities such as setting up stalls, hosting potlucks, an ...
. The day was established in 1994 by Louise Wallis, the then President and Chair. However, the founding of the Vegan Society is thought to have been either 5 or 12 November 1944. The first vegan society in the United States was founded in 1948 by
Catherine Nimmo Catherine T. Nimmo (22 September 1887 – 22 January 1985) was an American chiropractor, naturopath and vegan activist. Biography Nimmo was born in Rotterdam, Netherlands.Austin, Linda; Hammond, Norm. (2010). ''Oceano''. Arcadia Publishing. p. ...
and Rubin Abramowitz in California, who distributed
Donald Watson Donald Watson (2 September 1910 – 16 November 2005) was an English animal rights advocate who co-founded The Vegan Society. Early life Watson was born in Mexborough, Yorkshire, the son of a headmaster in a mining community. As a child, Watso ...
's newsletter. The earliest documented practice of trap-neuter-return was in the 1950s, led by animal activist Ruth Plant in the U.K.Ellen Perry Berkeley, ''TNR: Past, Present and Future: A History of the Trap-Neuter-Return Movement'' (2004: Alley Cat Allies), . In 1951, the
Animal Welfare Institute The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) is an American non-profit charitable organization founded by Christine Stevens in 1951 with the goal of reducing suffering inflicted on animals by humans. It is one of the oldest animal welfare organizations i ...
was founded by Christine Stevens. On November 22, 1954, the
Humane Society of the United States The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is an American nonprofit organization that focuses on animal welfare and opposes animal-related cruelties of national scope. It uses strategies that are beyond the abilities of local organizations. ...
was founded by Marcia Glaser, Helen Jones, and two men. Also in the United States, Velma Bronn Johnston initiated a massive letter-writing campaign by students to Senators and other Congress members, and on September 8, 1959, the campaign resulted in the federal legislature passing Public Law 86-234, which banned the poisoning of watering holes frequented by wild equids and the use of air and land vehicles in hunting and capturing free-roaming horses for sale and slaughter. This became known as the Wild Horse Annie Act. Johnston was also known as Wild Horse Annie. However, passage of the Wild Horse Annie Act did not alleviate the concerns of free-roaming horse advocates, who continued to lobby for federal rather than state control over the disposition of free-roaming horses. Since most horses in the desert regions were recently descended from ranchers' horses, ownership of the free-roaming herds was contentious, and ranchers continued to use airplanes to gather them. Johnston continued her campaign, and in 1971, the
92nd United States Congress The 92nd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1971, ...
unanimously passed the
Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 The Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 (WFRHBA), is an Act of Congress (), signed into law by President Richard M. Nixon on December 18, 1971. The act covered the management, protection and study of "unbranded and unclaimed hors ...
. It was signed into law by then-
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
on December 15, 1971. The act prohibited capture, injury, or disturbance of free-roaming horses and burros. In 1962 the
Animal Welfare Board of India The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), headquartered at Ballabhgarh in Haryana state, is a statutory advisory body advising the Government of India's Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying(Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairy ...
was founded by Rukmini Devi Arundale. In 1964 the British author
Ruth Harrison Ruth Harrison (; 24 June 1920 – 13 June 2000) was an English animal welfare activist and writer. Biography Harrison was born in London, the daughter of the author Stephen Winsten and the artist Clara Birnberg. She was educated at Bedfor ...
published ''Animal Machines'', an influential critique of factory farming, and on October 10, 1965, the British novelist Brigid Brophy had an article, "The Rights of Animals", published in ''The Sunday Times''. Ryder, Richard (2000) 989 ''Animal Revolution: Changing Attitudes Towards Speciesism'', pp. 5–6. Berg. Brophy wrote:
The relationship of
homo sapiens Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...
to the other animals is one of unremitting exploitation. We employ their work; we eat and wear them. We exploit them to serve our superstitions: whereas we used to sacrifice them to our gods and tear out their entrails in order to foresee the future, we now sacrifice them to science, and experiment on their entrail in the hope—or on the mere offchance—that we might thereby see a little more clearly into the present ... To us it seems incredible that the Greek philosophers should have scanned so deeply into right and wrong and yet never noticed the immorality of slavery. Perhaps 3000 years from now it will seem equally incredible that we do not notice the immorality of our own oppression of animals.
British political scientist
Robert Garner Robert Garner is a British political scientist, political theorist, and intellectual historian. He is a Professor Emeritus in the politics department at the University of Leicester , where he has worked for much of his career. Before working at ...
writes that
Ruth Harrison Ruth Harrison (; 24 June 1920 – 13 June 2000) was an English animal welfare activist and writer. Biography Harrison was born in London, the daughter of the author Stephen Winsten and the artist Clara Birnberg. She was educated at Bedfor ...
's book and Brigid Brophy's article led to an explosion of interest in the relationship between humans and nonhumans. Largely due to the outcry following ''Animal Machines'', British Parliament formed the Brambell Committee to investigate animal welfare. The Committee concluded that animals should be afforded the Five Freedoms, which consist of the animal's freedom to “have sufficient freedom of movement to be able without difficulty to turn around, groom itself, get up, lie down, ndstretch its limbs.” As well, Brophy's article was discovered in or around 1969 by a group of postgraduate philosophy students at the University of Oxford, Roslind and Stanley Godlovitch (wife and husband from Canada), John Harris, and David Wood, now known as the
Oxford Group The Oxford Group was a Christian organization (first known as ''First Century Christian Fellowship'') founded by the American Lutheran minister Frank Buchman in 1921. Buchman believed that fear and selfishness were the root of all problems. Fur ...
. They decided to put together a symposium to discuss the theory of animal rights. Around the same time, the British writer
Richard D. Ryder Richard Hood Jack Dudley Ryder (born 3 July 1940) is an English writer, psychologist, and animal rights advocate. Ryder became known in the 1970s as a member of the Oxford Group (animal rights), Oxford Group, a group of intellectuals loosely c ...
wrote several letters to ''The Daily Telegraph'' criticizing animal experimentation; these letters were seen by Brophy, who put Ryder in touch with the Godlovitches and Harris. Harrison, Brophy, and Ryder subsequently became contributors to the Godlovitches' symposium, which was published in 1971 as '' Animals, Men and Morals: An Inquiry into the Maltreatment of Non-humans'' (edited by Roslind and Stanley Godlovitch and John Harris). In the mid-1960s, English former model Celia Hammond gained publicity for her trap-neuter-return work "at a time when euthanasia of feral cats was considered the only option.""About Us: History"
, Celia Hammond Animal Trust, accessed Sept. 22, 2014.
Hammond "fought many battles with local authorities, hospitals, environmental health departments" but stated that she succeeded over the years in showing that control "could be achieved by neutering and not killing." In 1986 she founded the Celia Hammond Animal Trust with the aim of opening a low-cost neutering clinic to control the feral animal population. The first of these clinics opened in
Lewisham Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified i ...
in 1995, and a second opened in Canning Town in 1999. The Celia Hammond Animal Trust also runs a sanctuary in Brede, East Sussex, for animals which need new homes. In addition to neutering animals, the clinics (and sanctuary) also help to rescue and rehome animals, and now find homes for thousands of cats each year. In 1973 Dr. Shirley McGreal founded the
International Primate Protection League The International Primate Protection League (IPPL) is a not-for-profit animal welfare organization founded in 1973 in Thailand by Shirley McGreal. IPPL's main focus is to promote the conservation and protection around the world of all non-huma ...
in Thailand. In 1980 the English-born British/American animal rights activist
Ingrid Newkirk Ingrid Elizabeth Newkirk (née Ward; born June 11, 1949) is a British-American animal activist and the president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the world's largest animal rights organization. She is the author of several ...
co-founded
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA; , stylized as PeTA) is an American animal rights nonprofit organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. PETA reports that PETA entities have ...
. Also in 1980 was the first Action for Life conference for animal rights, which was attended by a number of pioneers in the animal rights movement, including Ingrid Newkirk. In 1981 Feminists for Animal Rights was founded in California; it became a nationwide organization in the following years and was active nationwide for over two decades, but is now defunct. In the same year,
Priscilla Cohn Priscilla T. Neuman Cohn Ferrater Mora (; December 14, 1933 – June 27, 2019) was an American philosopher and animal rights activist. She was Emerita Professor of Philosophy at Pennsylvania State University, associate director of the Oxford Ce ...
published ''Etica aplicada'' ("Applied Ethics"), written with
José Ferrater Mora José María Ferrater Mora ( ca, Josep Ferrater i Mora; 30 October 1912 – 30 January 1991) was a Spain, Spanish philosopher, essayist and writer. He is considered the most prominent Catalan philosopher of the 20th-century and was the author ...
, containing the first essay on animal rights published in Spain. In 1984
Virginia McKenna Dame Virginia Anne McKenna, (born 7 June 1931) is a British stage and screen actress, author and wildlife campaigner. She is best known for the films ''A Town Like Alice'' (1956), '' Carve Her Name with Pride'' (1958), ''Born Free'' (1966), and ...
OBE founded the
Born Free Foundation The Born Free Foundation is an international wildlife charity that campaigns to "Keep Wildlife in the Wild". It protects wild animals in their natural habitat, campaigns against the keeping of wild animals in captivity and rescues wild animals in ...
together with her husband Bill Travers OBE and their son Will Travers OBE. The Born Free Foundation is a dynamic international wildlife charity. Born Free takes action worldwide to save lives, stop suffering and protect species in the wild. A breakaway group from the
Vegan Society Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. D ...
, the Movement for Compassionate Living, was founded in 1984 by the former Vegan Society Secretary Kathleen Jannaway and her husband Jack. The Movement for Compassionate Living promotes veganism and sustainable living. In 1986, Lorri Houston co-founded
Farm Sanctuary Farm Sanctuary is an American animal protection organization, founded in 1986 as an advocate for farmed animals. It was America's first shelter for farmed animals. It promotes laws and policies that support animal welfare, animal protection, a ...
, America's first shelter for farm animals. In 1990, the American author
Carol J. Adams Carol J. Adams (born 1951) is an American writer, feminist, and animal rights advocate. She is the author of several books, including '' The Sexual Politics of Meat: A Feminist-Vegetarian Critical Theory'' (1990) and ''The Pornography of Meat'' ...
published her influential book '' The Sexual Politics of Meat: A Feminist-Vegetarian Critical Theory'', which discusses the connections between
feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
and
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 ...
and
patriarchy Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of dominance and privilege are primarily held by men. It is used, both as a technical anthropological term for families or clans controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males a ...
and meat eating, historically and through the reading of literary texts. In the same year, during the March for Animals in Washington, D.C. – the largest animal rights demonstration held until then in the United States – most of the participants were women, but most of the platform speakers were men. Also that year, Karen Davis founded United Poultry Concerns a non-profit animal rights organization in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
that addresses the treatment of
poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for their eggs, their meat or their feathers. These birds are most typically members of the superorder Galloanserae (fowl), especially the order Galliformes (which includes chickens, quails, a ...
, including chickens, ducks and turkeys, in food production, science, education, entertainment, and human companionship situations. In 1992 People for Animals (PFA), also known as People for Animals India,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
's largest
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 ...
organization, was founded by
Maneka Gandhi Maneka Sanjay Gandhi (also spelled Menaka; ''née'' Anand) (born 26 August 1956) is an Indian politician, animal rights activist, and environmentalist. She is a member of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian parliament and a member of ...
, who later became its chairperson. In 1994 Louise Wallis, then President and Chair of the
Vegan Society Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. D ...
, founded
World Vegan Day World Vegan Day is an annual event celebrated by vegans around the world every 1 November. The benefits of veganism for animals, humans and the natural environment are celebrated through activities such as setting up stalls, hosting potlucks, an ...
to commemorate the society's 50th anniversary.
Vegans Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. D ...
around the world now join together to celebrate animal rights every World Vegan Day, held annually on November 1. However, the actual founding of the Vegan Society is thought to have been either 5 or 12 November 1944. In 1994 Viva! was founded in the United Kingdom by Juliet Gellately. The organisation carries out undercover investigations of factory farms, as well as producing campaigns and resources on veganism. In 1998 Animals Asia was founded by Jill Robinson MBE; it works to end the bear bile trade in Asia. The charity has two bear sanctuaries in China and Vietnam and has rescued over 500 bears. It also works to end the trade in cats and dogs as food in China and Vietnam, and campaigns for the end of abusive captive animal practices in safari parks and zoos in Asia.


2000s

In 2006 in the Netherlands,
Marianne Thieme Marianne Louise Thieme (, born 6 March 1972) is a Dutch politician, author and animal rights activist. A jurist by education, she served as the Party for the Animals' political leader from 2002 to 2019 and a member of the House of Representatives ...
and
Esther Ouwehand Esther Ouwehand (born 10 June 1976) is a Dutch politician and former marketing manager serving as party leader, leader of the Party for the Animals ( nl, Partij voor de Dieren, PvdD) and its parliamentary group in the House of Representatives (N ...
were elected to parliament representing the Party for Animals. In 2008, Brigitte Gothière co-founded L214, a French animal rights organization which spreads awareness of animal suffering in slaughterhouses using graphic footage. In 2015, Jo-Anne McArthurbr>(We Animals)
and Keri Cronin (Department of Visual Arts,
Brock University Brock University is a public research university in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It is the only university in Canada in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, at the centre of Canada's Niagara Peninsula on the Niagara Escarpment. The university bear ...
), launche
The Unbound Project
a multimedia and book project that celebrates the women who have been at the forefront of animal advocacy around the globe. Women have also featured prominently in actions carried out in the name of the
Animal Liberation Front The Animal Liberation Front (ALF) is an international, Leaderless resistance, leaderless, decentralized political and social resistance movement that engages in and promotes non-violent direct action in protest against incidents of animal cruelt ...
and the
Hunt Saboteurs Association The Hunt Saboteurs Association (HSA) is a United Kingdom organisation that uses hunt sabotage as a means of direct action to stop fox hunting. It was founded in 1963, with its first sabotage event occurring at the South Devon Foxhounds on 26 De ...
.


See also

* List of animal rights advocates


References


Further reading

* Adams, Carol J. '' The Sexual Politics of Meat: A Feminist-Vegetarian Critical Theory''. (1990) * Adams, Carol J. and Donovan, Josephine. ''The Feminist Care Tradition in Animal Ethics: A Reader''. (2007) * *Donovan, Josephine. "Animal Rights and Feminist Theory," ''Signs'', Vol. 15, No. 2 (Winter, 1990), pp. 350–375.
Feminists for Animal RightsGuide to the Feminists for Animal Rights Publications and Other Materials 1991-1995
*Kean, Hilda (1995)
"The 'Smooth Cool Men of Science': The Feminist and Socialist Response to Vivisection"
''History Workshop Journal'', 40: 16–38. *Kemmerer, Lisa A. (editor). ''Sister Species: Women, Animals and Social Justice''. (2011) * Lansbury, Coral. ''The Old Brown Dog: Women, Workers, and Vivisection in Edwardian England''. (1985) {{Women in society, state=collapsed Animal rights movement Women in society