Richard D. Ryder

Richard D. Ryder, born in 1950, is a prominent English psychologist, writer, and animal rights advocate. He gained recognition in the 1970s as a key member of the Oxford Group, a collective of intellectuals associated with the University of Oxford who passionately opposed the use of animals, particularly in factory farming and research.

While working as a clinical psychologist at the Warneford Hospital in Oxford, Ryder coined the term 'speciesism' in 1970, highlighting the unjust exclusion of nonhuman animals from the protections afforded to humans. His advocacy efforts led him to become the chairman of the RSPCA Council from 1977 to 1979, during which he played a pivotal role in organizing the first academic animal rights conference at Trinity College, Cambridge, in August 1977. This landmark event resulted in the 'Declaration Against Speciesism,' which garnered signatures from one hundred and fifty individuals.

Throughout his career, Ryder has been instrumental in advancing legislative reforms for animal protection in the UK and EU from 1970 to 2020. He has authored several influential books addressing animal research, rights, and ethical considerations in politics, including 'Victims of Science' in nineteen seventy-five, 'Animal Revolution' in nineteen eighty-nine, and 'Painism: A Modern Morality' in two thousand one. His commitment to animal welfare culminated in his presidency of the RSPCA from twenty twenty to twenty twenty-three.