Jordi Casamitjana is a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and ...

, animal protection campaigner, and

animal rights activist The animal rights (AR) movement, sometimes called the animal liberation, animal personhood, or animal advocacy movement, is a social movement that seeks an end to the rigid moral and legal distinction drawn between human and non-human animals, ...

. He was born in

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...

in 1964 but is a British citizen living in the UK since 1993. He identifies as an

ethical vegan Conversations regarding the ethics of eating meat are focused on whether or not it is moral to eat non-human animals. Ultimately, this is a debate that has been ongoing for millennia, and it remains one of the most prominent topics in food ethic ...

. In April 2018, he was fired from the

League Against Cruel Sports The League Against Cruel Sports, formerly known as the League for the Prohibition of Cruel Sports, is a UK-based animal welfare charity which campaigns to stop blood sports such as fox hunting, hare and deer hunting; game bird shooting; and anim ...

(LACS) after he disclosed to his colleagues that it was investing in firms related to animal testing. Casamitjana claimed that LACS's decision to fire him was based on his ethical vegan belief. LACS said it was because of gross misconduct. He took legal action against LACS, which ended in an out-of-court settlement in his favour. The landmark case confirmed that ethical veganism is protected under the Equality Act of 2010 in the UK as a philosophical belief. This was the first time the specific belief of ethical veganism had been legally recognised and protected in any jurisdiction in the world. He is also the author of the book "Ethical Vegan: a Personal and Political Journey to Change the World". Casamitjana has worked as a freelance animal welfare consultant, undercover investigator and writer, and as an employee of campaign departments of several animal protection organisations, including the

Monkey Sanctuary The Monkey Sanctuary was founded in 1964 by Len Williams, father of classical guitarist John Williams, as a cooperative to care for rescued woolly monkeys. Based in Looe, Cornwall, England, the sanctuary is home to woolly monkeys that are descen ...

(Wild Futures), the

Born Free Foundation The Born Free Foundation is an international wildlife charity that campaigns to "Keep Wildlife in the Wild". It protects wild animals in their natural habitat, campaigns against the keeping of wild animals in captivity and rescues wild animals in ...

, the League Against Cruel Sports,

CAS International CAS International is an international non-profit advocacy group which aims to end bullfighting. CAS International was founded in 1993 as Comité Anti Stierenvechten, with the help of ADDA from Barcelona, Spain, De Dierenbescherming ( Dutch Socie ...

, the

International Fund for Animal Welfare The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) is one of the largest animal welfare and conservation charities in the world. The organization works to rescue individual animals, safeguard populations, preserve habitat, and advocate for greate ...

(IFAW), and

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA; , stylized as PeTA) is an American animal rights nonprofit organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. PETA reports that PETA entities have ...

(PETA) UK.

References

Activists from Catalonia Living people British animal rights activists British veganism activists Year of birth missing (living people) {{Veganism-and-Vegetarianism-stub