Our Chief Executive becomes Centre’s tenth Honorary Fellow
Cruelty Free International Chief Executive, Michelle Thew has been named an Honorary Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, in recognition of her ‘outstanding contribution to the protection of animals’.
In announcing their 10th Honorary Fellow, the Centre, which is devoted to pioneering ethical perspectives on animals through research, teaching and publication, said: “For over two decades, Michelle has led campaigns to create a world without animal testing and has spearheaded the largest global effort dedicated to making cosmetics cruelty free.”
An Honorary Fellowship is the highest award that the Centre can bestow, and Michelle joins a prestigious list of people who have received the award. They include: Nobel Prize-winning novelist, Professor J. M. Coetzee; philanthropist Dr Irene W. Crowe; Professor Joy Carter CBE, Professor Emeritus of the University of Winchester; Madame Jeanne Marchig, founder of the Marchig Trust for Animal Welfare; Professor Justus George Lawler, theologian and scholar; American television host and animal protection campaigner, Bob Barker; Australian philanthropist and founder of the Winsome Constance Kindness Trust, Philip Wollen OAM; educator and humanitarian, Anne Rees; and Tim Madura, President and Director of the Brooks Institute for Animal Rights and Policy.
Michelle said: “I am deeply honoured to become an Honorary Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics. Placing animals at the heart of ethical debate is critical to creating the kind of just society that benefits everyone. As the need to protect animals is increasingly recognised, I am delighted to continue to support the pioneering work of the Oxford Centre, joining a team of distinguished academics, advocates and thinkers in this field to advance the cause of animals.”
Professor Andrew Linzey, Founder and Director of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, said: “Ever since the Centre published its report on animal experimentation called “Normalising the Unthinkable” in 2015, we have become increasingly concerned about the entrenched institutionalisation of animal testing and how voices for reform are often silenced. We are delighted that Michelle has accepted our invitation as a way of recognising her tremendous contribution to seeking fundamental change.”
In 2015, the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics hosted a Summer School organised by Cruelty Free International to discuss animal ethics. During the event, participants debated a report commissioned by Cruelty Free International called ‘Normalising the Unthinkable’ which was backed by more than 150 academics, intellectuals, and writers, including J. M. Coetzee.