Lewis Hartland Thomas, co-founder of Vets for Hunting, later known as the Veterinary Association for Wildlife Management, has died at the age of 85.
Thomas was born in Bath during the war and later moved with his family to Kent as a teenager. He studied classics and zoology at Trinity College, Dublin, before completing veterinary medicine at Cambridge, where he also rowed for his college.
After graduation, he worked in mixed practice and then joined the Institute for the Research on Animal Diseases in Compton, Berkshire, where he earned a doctorate and became a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists. A published letter to The Times led to contact from William “Twink” Allen, resulting in the formation of Vets for Hunting.
In retirement, Thomas organized conferences on wildlife management and wrote letters to newspapers and politicians arguing that hunting with hounds was better for animal welfare than other methods. He remained active until limited by his health and caring for his wife Rosemary.
He is survived by Rosemary, son Charlie, and daughter Lucy.