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Press Release: New Film Reveals Pro-Animal Voices at Oxford

19th December 2022

A new short film entitled “Oxford: The Home of Controversy About Animals” featuring major historical figures, who have pioneered animal protection, has been released on YouTube and Vimeo.

Based on a walking tour of Oxford, the film features distinguished names, such as John Ruskin, John Henry Newman, Lewis Carrol, John Wesley, Frances Power Cobbe, Bishop Joseph Butler, C. S. Lewis, and Albert Schweitzer, and the places where they taught and resided at Oxford.

Of special interest are the figures who, against the time, spoke out against animal experimentation and defended the immortality of animals.

Presented by Professor Andrew Linzey, this is the first film given over to pro-animal voices which have contributed to Oxford’s history in the field of animal ethics.

“It is important that contemporary animal protectionists know that they have been preceded by some of the greatest names in intellectual history, who made a definite impact in Oxford” said Professor Andrew Linzey, Director of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics.

“We should remember those people who stood up, often courageously, against animal abuse. Long may their names be honoured for their work for animals as well as all else,” he continued.

The film can be viewed on the Centre’s website, YouTube and Vimeo.

Notes for editors:

The Revd Professor Andrew Linzey is available for interview, comment and articles.

For media enquiries please contact Chantal or Sophie at Panpathic Communications – Chantal@panpathic.com  / 07788 184 649 or Sophie@panpathic.com  / 01323440998 / 07815 860 082.

• The Revd Professor Andrew Linzey is Director of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics. He has held the world’s first post in theology and animals in the University of Oxford and has been a member of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Oxford for 28 years. He is the author of Animal Theology (University of Illinois Press) and Why Animal Suffering Matters (Oxford University Press) among others.
• The Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics is an independent centre pioneering ethical perspectives on animals through academic research, teaching, and publication. The Centre comprises more than 100 academic Fellows worldwide.
• Also, on YouTube and Vimeo is Professor Linzey’s lecture on “Why Animal Suffering Matters”.
• The film was produced by Adam & Jesse Productions. More information about their work can be found here: https://www.adamandjesse.com.