Ruth Harrison (; 24 June 1920 – 13 June 2000) was an English

animal welfare Animal welfare is the quality of life and overall well-being of 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 ...

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

Bedford College, London Bedford College was founded in London in 1849 as the first higher education college for women in the United Kingdom. In 1900, it became a constituent of the University of London. Having played a leading role in the advancement of women in highe ...

.Harrison nee Winsten

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

. Subscription or UK public library membership required As a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

and as a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

(thereby following the stand of her father in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

), she served in the

Friends Ambulance Unit The Friends' Ambulance Unit (FAU) was a volunteer ambulance service, founded by individual members of the British Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), in line with their Peace Testimony. The FAU operated from 1914 to 1919, 1939 to 1946 and ...

, first in Hackney, London, and then with

displaced persons Forced displacement (also forced migration or forced relocation) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR defines 'forced displaceme ...

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

and

Bochum Bochum (, ; ; ; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 372,348 (April 2023), it is the sixth-largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) in North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous German federa ...

in Germany. Ruth married architect Dex Harrison in 1954. She served on the Farm Animal Welfare Committee. In 1964, Harrison published '' Animal Machines'', which describes intensive poultry and livestock farming. The book exposed the suffering inflicted on farm animals by industrialised agriculture. The book prompted the British government to appoint a committee chaired by

Francis Brambell Francis William Rogers Brambell (25 February 1901 – 6 June 1970) was an Irish medical scientist who spent all of his professional working life in Britain. Education Brambell was born in Sandycove, Dublin and was educated (1911–1914) at Arav ...

to investigate the welfare of farm animals. In 1965, the "Brambell Report" was published which outlined Five Freedoms. Harrison's book was published in seven countries and was the inspiration for the ''European Convention for the Protection of Animals Kept for Farming Purposes''. In 1986 she was awarded an

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

. Harrison died of cancer in 2000, shortly before her eightieth birthday.

Legacy

The Australian ethicist

Peter Singer Peter Albert David Singer (born 6 July 1946) is an Australian moral philosopher who is Emeritus Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University. Singer's work specialises in applied ethics, approaching the subject from a secu ...

has said that reading ''Animal Machines'' was important in his becoming a vegetarian and adopting the views that he sets out in '' Animal Liberation''.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA; ) is an American animal rights nonprofit organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. Founded in March 1980 by Newkirk and animal rights ...

(PETA) president and co-founder Ingrid Newkirk, also credits Harrison's book, ''Animal Machines'', with changing her life.Ingrid Newkirk commentary
''What Does 'Turkey Day' Mean to You?''
Tribune News Service, Nov. 24, 2022

Selected publications

* ''Animal Machines: the New Factory Farming Industry''. Vincent Stuart Publishers. (1964) * ''Case Study: Farm Animals''. In R. J. Berry. (1992). ''Environmental Dilemmas: Ethics and Decisions''. Chapman & Hall.

References

External links

Animal Welfare Quarterly - ''A Tribute to Ruth Harrison''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Ruth 1920 births 2000 deaths 20th-century Quakers 20th-century English women writers Alumni of Bedford College, London British animal welfare scholars British animal welfare workers Deaths from cancer in England English conscientious objectors English people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent English Quakers English women non-fiction writers Members of the Order of the British Empire People associated with the Friends' Ambulance Unit People associated with the Oxford Group (animal rights) Writers from London

Biography

Legacy

Selected publications

References

Further reading

External links