This book is about the triumph of compassion over cruelty, and all the good people who fought on the side of compassion. It is about the long and arduous political struggle to ban hunting with hounds, spanning the period from 1965 to 2004 when the Hunting Act was passed by the UK Parliament. Like the earlier political struggles of the nineteenth century to end the slave trade and ban animal cruelties such as bear baiting and cock fighting, these modern day Wilberforces faced huge opposition from members of the establishment – in the media, the legal profession and in politics. Their story is told by someone who was at the heart of the battle, RSPCA trustee, Chair and President and political lobbyist, Dr Richard Ryder. Partly auto-biographical and partly a history of the campaign, Dr Ryder explains how the campaign was fought and eventually won. The book is a must read for those wanting to learn about the history of the campaign to ban foxhunting and other animal cruelties. It is also a bible for those who want to learn how to campaign successfully – how to PUT ANIMALS INTO POLITICS – and to understand some of the philosophy that underpinned the motivation to end these cruelties.
It is a hard back book with over 100, mostly colour, illustrations.
The author, Dr Richard Ryder, is Cambridge PhD in Experimental Psychology and recently retired RSPCA national Chairman and President. He is also CCA’s Scientific Adviser. The autobiography includes Ryder’s account of how “animals were successfully put into politics”. Barbara Gardner MBE’s comment is that it is also “a bible for those who want to learn how to campaign successfully”.
Professor Peter Singer: “An important addition to the historical record of the successful movement to make the treatment of animals a political issue, written by one of the movement’s key players.”
Chris Packham CBE: “Basing all future ethics upon reducing the suffering of others, regardless of size or species is what ought to make us human.“
Sir Brian May: “This book is a timely reminder that it is only compassion towards every creature that makes us worthy of respect as humans.“
Published by Animal Books and Media 2026, and printed by Amazon, the book is available on Amazon here.
Animal Interfaith Alliance 