| Johann Friedrich Ludwig Volckmann | |
| Birth Date: | 22 January 1758 |
| Birth Place: | Arnstadt |
| Death Place: | Arnstadt |
| Occupation: | Theologian, lawyer |
Johann Friedrich Ludwig Volckmann (22 January 1758 – 15 October 1815) was a German theologian, lawyer and animal rights writer.
Volckmann studied theology (1777–1780) and law in Leipzig.[1] [2] He worked in his hometown of Arnstadt as a bailiff and later as a government and court advocate. In 1794, he founded the Verein der Literaturfreunde zu Arnstadt (Association of Friends of Literature in Arnstadt).[1]
In 1799, Volckmann authored Menschenstolz und Thierqualen, an early animal rights work.[3] [4] It was republished in 2018.[1] In the book Volckmann stated that animals possess "memory, phantasy, moral sense" and some degree of rationality.[4] Volckmann argued that if man showed a higher admiration for the talents of animals, he would abstain from practicing cruelty.[4] Volckmann was one of the earliest writers to apply the term "rights" to animals.[5]
He married Wilhelmine Albertine Friederike Schöneweck in 1804.[2]