Growl: Life Lessons, Hard Truths, and Bold Strategies from an Animal Advocate
(Lantern, 2014)
For four decades, I had a front seat in the animal rights movement, starting at the grassroots in England and working my way up to leadership positions at some of the best-known organizations in the world, including Compassion In World Farming, the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (Cruelty-Free International), and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
Yet, as I reveal in this memoir of an eventful life dedicated to social justice for the voiceless, finding the truest path to progress has meant learning a lot along the way.
Equal parts personal narrative, social history, and impassioned call for rethinking animal advocacy, Growl describes my journey from a meat-eating slaughterhouse worker to a vegan activist for all species.
I explain the importance of four key values in animal rights philosophy and practice—compassion, truth, nonviolence, and justice—and how a deeper understanding of their role not only leads us to discover our humanity for animals but also for ourselves.
“Not all souls sing; some growl—for justice, for truth, for nonviolence. In this compelling book, Kim Stallwood offers frontline reflections with feet-on-the-ground theory, centred in compassion”.
Carol J. Adams, author
The Sexual Politics of Meat
“Although every activist starts out on their own path to social justice, Growl showed me how much our thoughts and feelings are shared experiences. Both funny and philosophical, Growl is a joy to read and will be enjoyed by new and seasoned activists alike”.
lauren Ornelas
Founder, Food Empowerment Project
I have written, edited, and published many newsletters, magazines, and websites about animal rights and human-animal relations. I have written one book, Growl, and edited two anthologies of articles I published in
The Animals’ Agenda magazine when I was its editor.
Selected Published Work
Kim Stallwood
• Editor, The Evolution of the Cat Revolution: Celebrating 25 Years of Saving Cats by Becky Robinson (Alley Cat Allies, 2015)
• Author, Growl: Life Lessons, Hard Truths, and Bold Strategies from an Animal Advocate with a foreword by Brian May (Lantern, 2014)
• Co-Editor, Teaching About Animals and Society: A Collection of Syllabi, Projects, Assignments, Web Sites, Articles and Bibliographies (American Sociological Association, 2005)
• Editor, A Primer on Animal Rights: Leading Experts Write About Animal Cruelty and Exploitation with a foreword by Jeremy Rifkin (Lantern, 2002)
• Editor, Speaking Out for Animals: True Stories About Real People Who Rescue Animals with a foreword by Jane Goodall (Lantern, 2001)
• Editor, The Animals’ Agenda magazine
(Animal Rights Network, 1993 to 2002)
Topsy The Elephant
A Biography of an Elephant
Kim is writing the biography of Topsy, the female Asian elephant who was electrocuted to death on Coney Island, New York in 1903. The narrative is written from various sources, from fiction to contemporary science, to tell the story of an individual animal’s life and the larger view of the plight of her kind, and animals generally.
The Kim Stallwood Archive
The British Library, London
In 2020 The British Library in London established the Kim Stallwood Archive, an extensive collection of 800 organisation, people, and subject files, including correspondence, manuscripts, meeting notes, and press cuttings chronicling his involvement with the international Animal Rights Movement dating from the mid-1970s onwards as part of their modern history archive.
The Kim Stallwood Collection
Tier im Recht, Switzerland
The Swiss-based animal law foundation, Tier im Recht, acquired the Kim Stallwood Collection in 2021. The publications, audio-visual materials, artefacts, posters, and much more became part of TIR’s extensive and professionally managed library and archive. Kim’s library of more than 2,000 books is scheduled to also go to TIR’s offices in Zurich.
