A Life Dedicated to Animal Rights

My life is dedicated to animal rights, working as an author, curator, and scholar. I have almost fifty years of personal commitment as a vegan and professional experience in leadership positions as a full-time employee, volunteer, board member, and independent consultant with some of the world’s foremost animal rights organizations.

As a curator preserving the history of animal rights, The British Library acquired the Kim Stallwood Archive in 2020. The Zurich-based animal law organisation Tier im Recht established the Kim Stallwood Collection in 2022. I am currently writing the biography of Topsy, the female Asian elephant electrocuted to death on Coney Island, New York, in 1903. My first book, Growl: Life Lessons, Hard Truths, and Bold Strategies from an Animal Advocate (Lantern) was published in 2014 with a foreword by Brian May. I have contributed to several academic anthologies about Topsy, animal biography, and movement strategy.

I have sought to work as a bridge between the animal rights movement and the academic field of human-animal studies in the humanities and social sciences. I serve on the volunteer board of directors of the US-based Culture & Animals Foundation, founded by animal rights philosopher Tom Regan and his wife, Nancy, in 1985. I co-founded with Ken Shapiro the Animals and Society Institute in 2005 and served as its Co-Executive Director until 2007. I was the volunteer executive director of Minding Animals International (2012 to 2017). I was the editor-in-chief of The Animals’ Agenda magazine (1993-2002) and the first Executive Director of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (1987-1992).

I pay for my animal rights work with consultancy fees from client organisations, royalties from publications, and the generous support of individuals on Patreon and subscribers on Substack. Such support pays for my modest window-less office and the costs primarily involved with researching and writing the biography of Topsy.