John A. Hoyt

John Arthur Hoyt (30 March 1932 – 15 April 2012) was an American Presbyterian minister and animal welfare campaigner. He was president and chief executive of the Humane Society of the United States from 1970 to 1996.

Biography

Hoyt was born in Marietta, Ohio to Claremont and Margaret Hoyt. His father was a Baptist minister.

His 1994 book Animals in Peril: How 'Sustainable Use' is Wiping Out the World's Wildlife was an attack on "sustainable use" of wildlife such as the international trade of wildlife. The book noted conflicts between animal welfare and conservation and how the international commercial trade of wild animals had led to devastating results including depletion of parrots, fish and whales and the failure to protect elephants. Hoyt advocated ecotourism to protect natural resources and wildlife and offer benefits to the local population.

In 2000, he was interviewed by animal rights writer Kim Stallwood.

Personal life

Hoyt lived on a farm in Fredericksburg, with his family and many cats, dogs and horses. He married Gertrude; they had and four daughters.

Hoyt stated that he had always loved animals, from the influence of his grandmother, a vegetarian who lived to age 106 and kept 40 pet sheep. He died from complications of progressive supranuclear palsy in Fredericksburg.

Selected publications

Do We Misuse Animals in School Science Projects? (1975) Animals in Peril: How "Sustainable Use" is Wiping out the World's Wildlife (1995)