 A demonstration on 19 March 1910 in Trafalgar Square, London, in support of the Brown Dog. The society's banner can be seen on Nelson's Column in the background. | |
| Formation | 1903 |
|---|---|
| Founders |
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| Dissolved | 1971 |
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. [1]
It was based for many years at Animal Defence House, 15 St James's Place, London, and ran a 237-acre animal sanctuary at Ferne House near Shaftesbury, Dorset, an estate owned by the Duke and Duchess of Hamilton. [2]
The Animal Defence and Anti-Vivisection Society's executive council included Alice Drakoules who was a lifelong campaigner for animal welfare and a keen supporter of the society. She helped the society campaign for licensed slaughterhouses, humane slaughter and for an end to performing animals. [3]
The society came to widespread attention during the Brown Dog affair (1903–1910), which began when Lind af Hageby infiltrated the vivisection 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 continued for several years, making a name both for Lind af Hageby and for the society. [1]
The society was associated with Hageby's International Humanitarian Bureau. [4] It published The Anti-Vivisection and Humanitarian Review in 1929 and Progress Today: The Humanitarian and Anti-Vivisection Review in the 1930s. [4]
Following Lind af Hageby's death in December 1963, the society's assets were transferred to a trust, The Animal Defence Trust, which continues to offer grants for animal-protection projects. [5]
NC State University Libraries holds a large collection of pamphlets from the Animal Defence and Anti-Vivisection Society. [6]
Nina Mary Benita Douglas-Hamilton, Duchess of Hamilton was an English peeress and animal rights activist.
Lizzie or Lizzy is a nickname for Elizabeth or Elisabet, often given as an independent name in the United States, especially in the late 19th century.
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.
Muriel Dowding, Baroness Dowding was an English humanitarian and animal rights activist known for championing anti-vivisection, improvement of animal welfare and vegetarianism.
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 the police, police protection for the statue of a dog, a libel trial at the Royal Courts of Justice, and the establishment of a Royal Commission to investigate the use of animals in experiments. The affair became a cause célèbre that divided the country.
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.
The Cruelty to Animals Act 1876 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which set limits on the practice of, and instituted a licensing system for animal experimentation, amending the Cruelty to Animals Act 1849. It was a public general Act. The Act was replaced 110 years later by the Animals Act 1986.
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 Humanitarian League was a British radical advocacy group formed by Henry S. Salt and others to promote the principle that it is wrong to inflict avoidable suffering on any sentient being. It was based in London and operated between 1891 and 1919.
Douglas Macmillan MBE was a British civil servant, vegetarianism activist and founder of the Macmillan Cancer Support charity, now one of the largest charities in the UK.
Ferne House is a country house in the parish of Donhead St Andrew in Wiltshire, England, owned by Viscount Rothermere.
The American Anti-Vivisection Society (AAVS) is a Jenkintown, Pennsylvania-based 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 betterment of animal life and human-animal interaction through legislation reform. It was the first anti-vivisection organization founded in the United States.
Battersea General Hospital known locally as the "Antiviv" or the "Old Anti," was a hospital in Battersea, London.
Hilda Kean 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 Honorary Research Fellow there. Kean is a visiting professor of History at the University of Greenwich and an adjunct professor at the Centre for Australian Public History at the University of Technology Sydney.
Margaret Mary Damer Dawson OBE was a prominent anti-vivisectionist and philanthropist who co-founded the first British women's police service.
Alice Marie Drakoules was a British humanitarian, vegetarian and campaigner for animal welfare.
Ernest Bell was an English author, publisher and activist for animal rights and welfare, humanitarianism and vegetarianism.
Gertrude Baillie-Weaver was an English suffragette and writer who published as Gertrude Colmore. She co-founded the National Council for Animals' Welfare and wrote in support of animal and human rights. Her books about Suffragette Sally and Emily Wilding Davison were republished in the 1980s.
