Mark Twain, Devoted Animal Advocate
"Of all the creatures, man is the most detestable. Of the entire brood, he's the one that possesses malice. He is the only creature that inflicts pain for sport, knowing it to be pain. The fact that man knows right from wrong proves his intellectual superiority to the other creatures; but the fact that he can do wrong proves his moral inferiority to any creature that cannot."
American novelist, journalist, humorist, and travel writer, Mark Twain, loved animals from the time he was a child and became a strong advocate for animals and animal welfare, both in his writing and personal life. He was an outspoken voice against hunting for its “wanton cruelty” that the sport condoned. Many of his writings reveal his contempt for those who hunt for sport.
Twain’s works played a pivotal role in raising Americans’ concerns about cruelty to animals and the exploitation of non-human animals by humans. Twain worked to raise awareness about animal cruelty and the exploitation of animals particularly in the sport and entertainment fields, and in animal testing and vivisection. He was so opposed to vivisection, he wrote long and passionate letters to the London Anti-Vivisection Society about the lack of efficacy and effectiveness in testing using animals and the unnecessary cruelty of testing on animals.
He spoke out publicly against cockfighting and bullfighting on numerous occasions. It’s reported that in his older years, Mark Twain became more and more disillusioned with people, and one of his greatest criticisms about humanity was man’s abusive and cruel treatment of animals.
