Humanitarian League
Encyclopedia
The Humanitarian League was an organisation formed in England
in 1891 by
Henry Salt
who was also the General Secretary and Editor. Other founding members were John Galsworthy
, Colonel W. L. Blenkinsop Coulson,,and Edward Carpenter
. Its aims were to enforce the principle that it is iniquitous to inflict avoidable suffering
on any sentient being.The League opposed both
corporal and capital punishment
. Its other objectives included the banning of all hunting as a sport, and it was also strongly opposed to vivisection
. The HL thus anticipated the modern animal rights
movement.
Notable supporters of the HL included
Keir Hardie
, Thomas Hardy
, George Bernard Shaw
,
Bertram Lloyd (1881–1944)
and Christabel Pankhurst
.
The League closed down in 1920.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1891 by
Henry Salt
Henry Stephens Salt
Henry Stephens Salt 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 vegetarian, anti-vivisectionist, socialist, and pacifist, and was well known as a literary critic, biographer,...
who was also the General Secretary and Editor. Other founding members were John Galsworthy
John Galsworthy
John Galsworthy OM was an English novelist and playwright. Notable works include The Forsyte Saga and its sequels, A Modern Comedy and End of the Chapter...
, Colonel W. L. Blenkinsop Coulson,,and Edward Carpenter
Edward Carpenter
Edward Carpenter was an English socialist poet, socialist philosopher, anthologist, and early gay activist....
. Its aims were to enforce the principle that it is iniquitous to inflict avoidable suffering
Suffering
Suffering, or pain in a broad sense, is an individual's basic affective experience of unpleasantness and aversion associated with harm or threat of harm. Suffering may be qualified as physical or mental. It may come in all degrees of intensity, from mild to intolerable. Factors of duration and...
on any sentient being.The League opposed both
corporal and capital punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
. Its other objectives included the banning of all hunting as a sport, and it was also strongly opposed to vivisection
Vivisection
Vivisection is defined as surgery conducted for experimental purposes on a living organism, typically animals with a central nervous system, to view living internal structure...
. The HL thus anticipated the modern animal rights
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
movement.
Notable supporters of the HL included
Keir Hardie
Keir Hardie
James Keir Hardie, Sr. , was a Scottish socialist and labour leader, and was the first Independent Labour Member of Parliament elected to the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
, Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.While he regarded himself primarily as a...
, George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
,
Bertram Lloyd (1881–1944)
and Christabel Pankhurst
Christabel Pankhurst
Dame Christabel Harriette Pankhurst, DBE , was a suffragette born in Manchester, England. A co-founder of the Women's Social and Political Union , she directed its militant actions from exile in France from 1912 to 1913. In 1914 she became a fervent supporter of the war against Germany...
.
The League closed down in 1920.