Henry Crowe (vicar)


Henry Crowe was an English vicar and early animal rights writer.

Biography

Crowe was born at Stoke Ferry. He was a Fellow of Clare College and obtained his M.A. in 1794. Crowe was ordained deacon on 5 December 1791 and priest on 26 May 1793. He was vicar of Buckingham.
Crowe was the author of the book Zoophilos, published in 1819. It was an early work supportive of animal welfare and criticised the mistreatment of animals such as bullbaiting, cockfighting, and bearbaiting. He also criticised methods of animal slaughter and types of animal experimentation and testing. Crowe opposed vivisection and his book contains the chapter, On Cruelty in philosophical researches which compares vivisectional cruelties to the inquisition. He was an opponent of field sports, especially hunting.
There were positive reviews of Crowe's book published in The Gentleman's Magazine and The Monthly Review.
Crowe died at Hatton Garden in 1851, age 82.

Selected publications