Honouring Richard Martin MP written by guest author Erin Poppenga

            The first animal to receive justice for suffering extreme cruelty was a donkey in 1822. This success was all due to the prosecuting attorney, Richard Martin, who argued that animals could feel pain and therefore had the right to not be harmed. For the first time, the public’s attitude towards animal cruelty shifted. At this moment, the future of animal rights changed forever.

            Martin, a fierce advocate for animals, even fought a duel with an individual who killed his family dog. When asked why he so passionately defended animals, he stated, “Sir, an ox cannot hold a pistol!”.

            Richard Martin was the pioneer of animal law. During his lifetime, he attempted to introduce numerous laws to create protections for animals, such as banning dogfighting and cockfighting. However, the majority of these efforts failed, except for one. Martin is best known for the legislation normally called “Martin’s Act,” passed through Parliament in 1822 (the Cruel Treatment of Cattle Act 1822), which ultimately punished cattle and equine abusers with a prison sentence. This was the first law in history that was enacted to protect animals. 

            Following his victory for the neglected donkey, Martin founded a group called the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (“SPCA”) (now known as RSPCA), which intended to protect animals from cruelty. SPCA was the first animal rights organization and inspired other countries to follow suit. To this date, there are over fifty animal rights groups throughout the globe. 

Martin would be delighted that other compassionate individuals are still fighting to create laws that protect animals. Richard Martin’s vision of a kinder world, where animals and humans can peacefully co-exist, is drawing closer day by day. 

Moody, Ellen (2015, September 2). Humanity Dick Martin. Ellen And Jim Have A Blog, Two. https://ellenandjim.wordpress.com/tag/humanity-dick-martin/ 

Lee, Alexander. (2021, November). A donkey’s day in court | history Today. History Today. https://www.historytoday.com/archive/natural-histories/donkeys-day-court

Our history: RSPCA – RSPCA. RSPCA. (n.d.) . https://www.rspca.org.uk/whatwedo/whoweare/history#:~:text=In 1824%2C a small group,to animals was widely accepted

Wikimedia Foundation. (2024, April 14). List of animal rights groups. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_animal_rights_groups

Isacat, Ben. (n.d.). Richard Martin – First Parliamentary Law for Animals. Richard Martin the animal law maker – how to do Animal Rights Practical Activism. https://www.animalethics.org.uk/richard-martin.html#:~:text=When asked why he defended,hanged FitzGerald for another offence

Unknown. (1972, January 1). Full title name:  the history of the RSPCA. Animal Law Legal Center. https://www.animallaw.info/article/history-rspca