The brown dog affair

Visiting the fine and smart exhibition „animal lovers“ on the topic of human-animal relationships in the nGbK (neue Gesellschaft für bildende Kunst) I first learned about the „brown dog affair“.

Between 1903 and 1910, anti-vivisectionists and feminists fought side by side for animal rights against medical students and the use of animals in experiments. The brown dog affair first arised because of the death of a brown Terrier in animal tests in front of medical students and made it up to the royal court of justice, accompanied by battles and street fights remebered as "the brown dog riots".

This brown dog is my animal of the day.

I do highly recommend to go see the exhibition and rethink your personal attitude torwards animal rights in general! 

 Picture taken at the exhibition "animal lovers"

Lizzy Lind-af-Hageby (1878-1963) and Leisa K. Schartau ( 1876-1962 ) knew eych other since they were children. After a visit of the "Institute Pasteur Paris", a center for animal testing around 1900, they founded the "Anti-Vivisection Society of Sweden" in 1902. Lind-af-Hageby was Cofounder of the "Animal Defence and Anti-Vivisection Society" in 1906 and led an animal sanctuary togther with the Duchess of Hamilton. She was as well active in the "Womens´s Freedom League" and the "London Vegetarian Society". As a feminist she thematized the close connection between political claims of feminists and animal rights activists.