Christine Gesell Stevens (March 10, 1918 – October 11, 2002) was an American animal welfare activist and conservationist.
Christine Gesell Stevens | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | March 10, 1918 |
| Died | October 11, 2002 (aged 84) |
| Occupation | Animal welfare activist |
Biography
editStevens was born in St. Louis, Missouri.[1] She studied at the University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (1936-1938) and at the Society of Arts and Crafts in Detroit (1938-1942). She married Roger L. Stevens in 1938. They had a daughter, Christabel.[1]
Stevens founded the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) in 1951 and the Society for Animal Protective Legislation (SAPL) in 1955.[1][2][3] Under Stevens's leadership the SAPL succeeded in helping to pass animal protection laws including the Animal Welfare Act, Humane Slaughter Act, Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.[3]
Stevens was the president of AWI until her death in 2002.[4][5][6] She is considered the mother of the Animal Welfare Act and the Endangered Species Act. She took no salary for her AWI work.[7] Stevens was an honorary trustee of the Bat Conservation International and the New York State Humane Association.[1]
She died at Georgetown University Hospital.[6] The Christine Stevens Wildlife Awards was named in her honour.[8]
Interviews
editInterviews with Stevens are archived in the Animal Rights Network Oral History Collection at the Special Collections Research Center in NC State University Libraries.[9][10]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations For 2001. U.S. Government Printing Office. Washington, 2000. p. 540. ISBN 0-16-060511-3
- ^ Epstein, Charlotte. (2008). The Power of Words in International Relations: Birth of an Anti-Whaling Discourse. MIT Press. p. 140. ISBN 978-0-262-55069-7
- ^ a b Magoc, Chris J. (2011). Chronology of Americans and the Environment. ABC-CLIO. p. 98. ISBN 978-1-59884-411-5
- ^ Phelps, Norm. (2007). The Longest Struggle: Animal Advocacy from Pythagoras to PETA. Lantern Books. pp. 190-191. ISBN 978-1-59056-106-5
- ^ "Animal Rights Network Oral History Collection 1999-2002". NC State University Libraries. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
- ^ a b Saxon, Wolfgang. (2002). "Christine Stevens, 84, a Friend to the Animals". The New York Times. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
- ^ Guither, Harold D. (1998). Animal Rights: History and Scope of a Radical Social Movement. Southern Illinois University Press. p. 41. ISBN 0-8093-2158-0
- ^ "Christine Stevens Wildlife Awards". Animal Welfare Institute. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
- ^ "Animal Rights Network Oral History Collection 1999-2002". NC State University Libraries. 2018.
- ^ "New Animal Rights Network Oral Histories Digitized". NC State University Libraries. 2023. Archived from the original on September 2, 2024.
Further reading
edit- The Animals’ Angel Celebrating Christine Stevens’ Passionate Animal Activism. Animal Welfare Institute Quarterly (2003, Volume 52).