Opposition to vivisection in Wales has existed for over 150 years. It was closely linked to the broader British movement, notably through Frances Power Cobbe, an Irish writer, philosopher, social reformer and leading suffragette. In 1875 she founded the world's first anti-vivisection organization, later renamed the National Anti-Vivisection Society or NAVS.
She retired to North Wales with her life companion Mary Lloyd, a Welsh sculptor, in 1884. There she continued to write and oppose vivisection. In 1898 she broke with NAVS and founded a second society, the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection or BUAV (now Cruelty Free International).
BUAV comprised nationally organized branches that undertook campaigning, demonstrated against institutions that licensed vivisection, and produced and distributed mass publications, many of them by Cobbe herself, a journalist by trade.
The "Wales" branch was the first regional branch of the BUAV to be established, claiming 253 members shortly after the Union's formation in Bristol in 1898. Cobbe’s presence helped anchor the movement in Wales.
She dedicated herself to BUAV until her death in 1904 and is buried, alongside her partner, at Llanelltyd, near Dolgellau.
Who knew opposition to animal experiments in Wales was led by such an illustrious pioneer? And what incentive to carry on her work!
Create Your Own Website With Webador