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 experimentation on live animals by organizations opposed to animal experimentation, but the term is rarely used by practising scientists. Human vivisection, such as live organ harvesting, has been perpetrated as a form of torture.
In the animal rights movement, cruelty-free is a label for products or activities that do not harm or kill animals anywhere in the world. Products tested on animals or made from animals are not considered cruelty-free, since these tests are often painful and cause the suffering and death of millions of animals every year.
Cruelty Free International is a British 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.
Frances Power Cobbe 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 groups, including the National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS) in 1875 and the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) in 1898, and was a member of the executive council of the London National Society for Women's Suffrage.
Thomas Earle was an American journalist, lawyer, and politician. The son of Pliny Earle, he was born in Leicester, Massachusetts, the descendant of Ralph Earle, one of the original petitioners of King Charles I to found the state of Rhode Island. His son was a Philadelphia lawyer George H. Earle, Sr. His grandson, born after his death, was noted "financial diplomat" George H. Earle, Jr. His great-grandson was George Howard Earle III, governor of Pennsylvania.
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. Since 2006, the NAVS has operated its international campaigns under the working name Animal Defenders International (ADI), and the two groups now work together under the ADI name.
Emilie Augusta Louise "Lizzy" Lind af Hageby was a Swedish-British feminist and animal rights advocate who became a prominent anti-vivisection activist in England in the early 20th century.
Women have played a central role in animal advocacy since the 19th century. The animal advocacy movement – embracing animal rights, animal welfare, and anti-vivisectionism – has been disproportionately initiated and led by women, particularly in the United Kingdom. Women are more likely to support animal rights than men. A 1996 study of adolescents by Linda Pifer suggested that factors that may partially explain this discrepancy include attitudes towards feminism and science, scientific literacy, and the presence of a greater emphasis on "nurturance or compassion" amongst women. Although vegetarianism 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 [in the US] who call themselves vegetarian, 68% are female, while only 32% are male".
The concept of moral rights for animals is believed to date as far back as Ancient India, particularly early Jainist and Hindu history. What follows is mainly the history of animal rights in the Western world. There is a rich history of animal protection in the ancient texts, lives, and stories of Eastern, African, and Indigenous peoples.
Our Dumb Animals was an American animal welfare magazine published from 1868 to 1970 by the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; it was founded and edited by George T. Angell, the founder of the society.
Caroline White 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 founded the American Anti-Vivisection Society (AAVS) in 1883.
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 Douglas-Hamilton, Duchess of Hamilton.
Rise for Animals is a national, registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit animal rights organization which aims to end nonhuman animal experimentation. It has been described as "one of the oldest and wealthiest anti-vivisection organizations in the United States".
The Iranian Anti-Vivisection Association (IAVA) is a nonprofit nongovernmental science-based organization. It's the first animal rights advocacy group in Iran which professionally campaigns for lab animal rights. In 2012, IAVA was recognized as Iran's most active animal rights group and was awarded the Brown Bear statuette by Iran Animal Rights Watch and a number of environmental parties.
Animal welfare and rights in South Africa is about the treatment of and laws concerning non-human animals in South Africa.
Ernest Bell was an English author, publisher and activist for animal rights and welfare, humanitarianism and vegetarianism.
Francis Harold Rowley was an American Baptist minister, animal welfare campaigner and hymn writer.
Public drinking fountains in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, have been built and used since the 19th century. Various reform-minded organizations in the city supported public drinking fountains as street furniture for different but overlapping reasons. One was the general promotion of public health, in an era of poor water and typhoid fever. Leaders of the temperance movement such as the Woman's Christian Temperance Union saw free, clean water as a crucial alternative to beer. Emerging animal welfare organizations, notably the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, wanted to provide water to the dogs and working horses of the city on humanitarian grounds, which is why Philadelphia's drinking fountains of the era often include curb-level troughs that animals could reach.
Mary Frances Lovell (1843–1932) was a British-born American writer, humanitarian, and temperance reformer. She co-founded the American Anti-Vivisection Society (AAVS), and also, in 1859, the Women's Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (WPSPCA), serving as the latter's corresponding secretary and honorary president. She served as vice-president of the American Humane Association and through her work with the World Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), her humanitarian efforts were introduced into some 20 countries around the world.
