Captain Fergus MacCunn (19 April 1890 – 18 May 1941) was a British

animal welfare Animal welfare is the quality of life and overall well-being of animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures ...

activist and chief secretary of the

RSPCA The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity operating in England and Wales which promotes animal welfare. The RSPCA is funded primarily by voluntary donations. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest and largest a ...

Career

MacCunn was educated at a private school in

Cranleigh, Surrey Cranleigh is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Waverley, Surrey, England. It lies southeast of Guildford on a minor road east of the A281, which links Guildford with Horsham. It is in the north-west corner of the Weald, a large remna ...

. He served in the London Scottish and

King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI) was a Light infantry, light infantry regiment of the British Army. It officially existed from 1881 to 1968, but its predecessors go back to 1755. In 1968, the regiment was amalgamated with the Somers ...

from 1914 to 1917. He was severely injured in 1917. E. Douglas Hume commented that "a bullet through the head put an end to his soldiering". MacCunn joined the RSPCA in 1910, became assistant secretary in 1924 and succeeded

Edward G. Fairholme Edward George Robert Fairholme (7 November 1873 – 6 January 1956) was a British animal welfare campaigner and writer. He was chief secretary of the RSPCA from 1908 to 1933. Biography Fairholme was born in London. He was the son of Captain Cha ...

as chief secretary of the RSPCA in 1934. He attended RSPCA meetings throughout Britain. In February 1926, MacCunn lectured at

Birkbeck College Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public research university located in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. Established in 1823 as the London Mechanics' ...

where he requested to form a new animal welfare society. His lecture was influential to C. W. Hume who founded the University of London Animal Welfare Society. He was the British delegate to Humane Association's 1935 convention in Washington. He was an honorary member of the

Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals-Angell Animal Medical Center (MSPCA-Angell) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with its main headquarters on South Huntington Avenue in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Bo ...

. He organized the Finnish War Animals Fund during the

Winter War The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...

in 1940 and re-opened the British Sick and Wounded Horses Fund. He suffered from heart trouble and died in 1941, aged 51.

Family

MacCunn was the son of

Hamish MacCunn Hamish MacCunn, ''né'' James MacCunn (22 March 18682 August 1916) was a Scottish composer, conductor and teacher. He was one of the first students of the newly founded Royal College of Music in London, and quickly made a mark. As a composer he ...

and Alison Pettie. He married Maude Annie Scott; they had one son, Robin.

Selected publications

*''The Royal Family and the R.S.P.C.A''. In ''Crown and Empire'' (1937) *''Country Friends'' (1938) *''Pets for Young People'' (with Wellesley Pain, 1938) *''Cats'' (1945)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacCunn, Fergus 1890 births 1941 deaths Academics of Birkbeck, University of London British animal care and training writers British animal welfare workers English people of Scottish descent King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry soldiers People from Cranleigh People from Hampstead RSPCA workers