Marjorie Doggett

Marjorie Doggett (née Millest,[1] 1921- 15 August 2010) was a Singaporean animal rights advocate. She helped establish the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in Singapore and helped stop illegal wildlife trafficking in the country. She was also a photographer with work featured in print, film and collected in the National Archives of Singapore.

Biography

Doggett was born in Sussex, England in 1921.[2] Doggett's earliest experiences with animals was spending time with them on her grandfather's farm.[1] When she was sixteen, she heard a talk given by her headmistress about laboratory animals used in the school and felt that they were being made to suffer.[1]

During World War II, she worked as a nurse, and then in 1947, came to Singapore with her husband, Victor Doggett, who was stationed there with the Royal Air Force.[1] Doggett help grow the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in Singapore.[1] The organization started in Singapore first as a volunteer service Doggett started which rescued stray cats and then became the SPCA in Singapore.[3] Because there were not many veterinarians in the area, Doggett would take injured cats to a vet in Kampong Java.[2] Her cat-rescue group became the SPCA formally in 1954, and headquartered on Orchard Road.[2] Doggett and her husband became citizens of Singapore in 1960.[1]

In 1974, Dr. Shirley McGreal, a primatologist contacted Doggett about illegal wildlife trading.[1] They ended up working together for more than 25 years, and uncovered several smuggling incidents and even posed as animal collectors to discover illegal animal trafficking.[1][4][5] She became an advisory director for the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) and the secretary of the International Primate Protection League (IPPL) in 1982.[2] In 1984, she started a regular column for the SPCA Bulletin.[6] Doggett also wrote regularly to newspapers and was quoted in the media about animal rights issues.[2]

Doggett died 15 August 2010 in her home in Toh Heights, after being ill for many years.[3] She had Alzheimer's disease, but still loved and protected animals up to her last days, according to her son, Nicholas.[3]

Legacy

Doggett's other love was photography and she enjoyed photographing historic buildings.[3] Doggett's photos were taken with a Rolliecord.[7] Some of her photographs are published in Characters of Light (1957) and in the documentary, Invisible City (2007).[3][2][8] Nicholas, her son, donated her collection of photographs to the National Archives of Singapore in 2016.[7] In 2017, she was inducted into the Singapore Women's Hall of Fame for her advocacy work with animals.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Lau, Eunice (16 February 2001). "Doggett Fight Against Cruelty to Animals". The Straits Times. Retrieved 5 November 2016 – via LexisNexis. (Subscription required (help)).
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Marjorie Doggett". Singapore Women's Hall of Fame. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Gunasingham, Amresh (17 August 2010). "SPCA Founder Fiercely Protective of Animals up Till Her Last Days". The Straits Times. Retrieved 5 November 2017 – via LexisNexis. (Subscription required (help)).
  4. ↑ Stein, George (1990-05-24). "Orangutangle : Wildlife: Orangutan smuggling is a lucrative but damaging trade. The global battle against it involves Southern Californians". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2017-11-05.
  5. ↑ Doggett, Marjorie (27 July 1980). "The Hand of Tyranny". New Nation. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  6. ↑ Moss, Deirdre (January 2011). "In Loving Memory of Marjorie Doggett" (PDF). SPCA Bulletin: 15.
  7. 1 2 "Marjorie Doggett's Singapore: 1950s - Photo Heritage". Photo Heritage. Retrieved 2017-11-05.
  8. ↑ Elley, Derek (18 February 2008). "Invisible City". Variety. Retrieved 5 November 2017 – via Newspapers.com. (Subscription required (help)).
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