'Father of animal rights' gets new home with SPCA

A rare watercolour of the English lord credited as being the "father of animal rights" has a new home in Auckland.

The watercolour of Lord Thomas Erskine has been hung in the foyer of the new Auckland education centre of the SPCA.

The portrait was given to the society by a descendant of Lord Erskine, Jann Sutherland from Clevedon, south of Auckland.

Lord Erskine died in 1823, aged 73. His efforts to introduce laws in England to protect the rights of animals was the basis of the SPCA movement.

The painting, still in its early 19th century frame, was brought to New Zealand by a grandson, John Hampton Erskine, in the Victorian era.

In the latest issue of the SPCA magazine, Animals' Voice, Ms Sutherland said she snatched the painting of her great-great-grandfather from a fire after her mother decided to get rid of it.

"I was always aware of him but it wasn't until I got the picture and hung it on the wall that I became more aware of who he was. He was very special," she said.

- NZPA