The struggle for the rights of wild, farmed and domestic animals is not by any means a recent phenomenon: the present controversies around the issues of vivisection, zoos and hunting all have a long history. These are other related issues across a period of more than two centuries are traced in this book, which places the debates on animal rights and welfare in a broader context, incorporating culture, art, literature and the history of science. Drawing on archive material, visual images and fictional narratives, the author looks at the political, cultural and social history of animal-rights activism from 1800 to the present, focusing on various examples ranging from rabies scares in the late-19th century to the growth of initiatives such as The Body Shop today.