Norm Phelps (born Norman Nelson Phelps, III; May 16, 1939 – December 31, 2014) was an American

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have Moral patienthood, moral worth independent of their Utilitarianism, utility to humans, and that their most basic interests—such as ...

activist,

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

and writer. He was a founding member of the Society of Ethical and Religious Vegetarians (SERV), and a former outreach director of the Fund for Animals. He authored four books on animal rights: ''The Dominion of Love: Animal Rights According to the Bible'' (2002), ''The Great Compassion: Buddhism and Animal Rights'' (2004), ''The Longest Struggle: Animal Advocacy from Pythagoras to PETA'' (2007), and ''Changing the Game: Animal Liberation in the Twenty-first Century (2015)''.

Biography

Phelps spoke at numerous conferences, including the National Conference on Organized Resistance, the University of Oregon's Public Interest Environmental Law Conference, several of the annual Animal Rights Conferences sponsored by the Farm Animal Rights Movement (FARM), and the Compassionate Living Festival. He also published articles, essays, and book reviews in several periodicals: ''Journal of Critical Animal Studies'', '' Philosophia'', ''Satya'', ''The Animals’ Voice'', and ''

VegNews VegNews is a media brand focused on a plant-based lifestyle, encompassing a flagship magazine, a website, and a podcast, among other properties. VegNews covers content relating to veganism, including news, recipes, and celebrity interviews. His ...

''. Phelps had become a

and then a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

following the death of his

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. ...

Czar in 1984. As Phelps describes this change process on his website, "Czar was a person. He had a

personality Personality is any person's collection of interrelated behavioral, cognitive, and emotional patterns that comprise a person’s unique adjustment to life. These interrelated patterns are relatively stable, but can change over long time per ...

as individual and well-defined as any

human being Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...

. He could love, he could trust, he could share, he could enjoy, he could fear, he could worry, he could look forward to the future and remember the past, he had a sense of who he was, and he would have sacrificed himself for me without a moment's hesitation. . . . If Czar was a person, what about other animals? What about cows,

pigs The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...

, chickens and

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

? Weren't they people, too? How could we love some and eat others?" In 1994, Phelps retired from the federal government and joined the campaigns office of The Fund for Animals in

Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially Unincorporated area, unincorporated, it is an edge city with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 ...

, where he became active in the campaign to end the live

pigeon Columbidae is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. ...

shoot which was then held every

Labor Day Labor Day is a Federal holidays in the United States, federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the Labor history of the United States, American labor movement and the works and con ...

in the village of Hegins, Pennsylvania. The shoot ended in 1998. When The Fund for Animals merged with The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), Phelps joined the staff of the HSUS

wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animals and uncultivated plant species which can exist in their natural habitat, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introdu ...

protection campaign, where he worked until he resigned for reasons of age and health in 2011. From 2002 until his death in 2014, Phelps had suffered from myasthenia gravis, an auto-immune neuromuscular condition that causes severe fatigable weakness. As an animal rights theorist, Phelps argues that the animal rights movement must: 1) Engage religious communities on the side of animal rights, 2) Join with progressive movements for social and economic justice and environmental protection to create a genuine universal rights movement, and 3) pursue a "two-track" strategy of advocating veganism and the abolition of all animal exploitation while simultaneously campaigning for more moderate reforms, such as Meatless Mondays and the abolition of battery cages for laying hens. Although he is generally opposed to militant direct action on the grounds that it is counterproductive, Phelps supported live rescues of animals from farms and laboratories. In 1994, he was arrested at a pigeon shoot in Pikeville,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

for releasing 200 pigeons who were slated to become living targets. He spent two days in Berks County Prison and was subsequently convicted of malicious mischief. He lived in

Funkstown, Maryland Funkstown is a town in Washington County, Maryland, United States. The population was 904 at the 2010 census. History Originally were sold to Henry Funk by Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore in 1754 and settled as ''Jerusalem''. The Civi ...

(USA) with his second wife, Patti Rogers. Phelps died on December 31, 2014, at the age of 75.

Education

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...

, BA,

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

, 1958–1962.

Publications

Books * ''The Dominion of Love: Animal Rights According to the Bible''. Lantern Books, New York, 2002. 208 pages. * ''The Great Compassion: Buddhism and Animal Rights''. Lantern Books, New York, 2004. 240 pages. * ''The Longest Struggle: Animal Advocacy from Pythagoras to PETA''. Lantern Books, New York, 2007. 368 pages.''The Longest Struggle: Animal Advocacy from Pythagoras to PETA''. Lantern Books, New York, 2007. 368 pages. Available free online through Academia.edu
/ref> Articles

- begins at 250,000 YBP

- cites religious social sources of compassion for animals and for humane reforms for animals

- in which Phelps states that he had been practicing

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, D ...

for more than 20 years
Use a Sharp Knife: Animals and Islam

Audio podcasts * ttp://responsibleeatingandliving.com/?page_id=11572 Changing the Game, Part II (7/23/2013)- Transcription by Brandon Chung, 7/30/2013 Published Interviews * The Dominion of Love: Interview with the Abolitionist Online * The Great Compassion: Interview with the Abolitionist Online Book Reviews
Animals and the Holocaust: Eternal Treblinka by Charles Patterson

* ttp://www.satyamag.com/jan05/phelps.html Trying to Walk before We Can Crawl: Speciesism by Joan Dunayer
Speaking of the Unspeakable: the Holocaust and the Henmaid's Tale by Karen Davis
Video lectures
History of the Animal Rights Movement (17:11), Apr 10, 2013, featured at the Animal Rights 2012 National Conference, organized by Farm Animal Rights Movement (FARM) of Bethesda, MD
- argues for the secular roots of the animal rights movement, as 'the orphan child of the 1960s' and as having secularist roots from the European Enlightenment, contrasting it with the animal welfare movement which he said had emerged from 18th century religious roots, when contemplation of the moral meaning of sentience was centrally important to reflection on animals. Also distinguishes the 'new welfarism' of

Humane Society of the United States Humane World for Animals, formerly the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and Humane Society International (HSI), is a global nonprofit organization that focuses on animal welfare and opposes animal-related cruelties of national scop ...

from the abolitionism of Gary Francione.

Biography

Education

Publications

See also

Notes

Further reading