The Most Animal-Friendly Characters in the Wizarding World

9/28/2021

Whether dozing in the Owlery to escape the cold or digging through the earth in search of buried gold, magical creatures abound in all corners of the wizarding world. There are countless examples of their relationships with humans - both good and bad.

While there are many notable “creature” moments throughout the Harry Potter series, such as the persecution of Buckbeak the hippogriff, many of them are more nuanced; namely, the use of animals in potion-making, Fred and George Weasley’s Pygmy Puff (“designer” Puffskein) breeding, and the revelation that the Hogwarts carriages that “pull themselves” are drawn by Thestrals.

When it came to compiling this list of “most animal friendly characters,” we solemnly swore to leave no stone unturned! At the same time - and to use a “Newtonian” phrase - it may have involved “just a smidge” of reading between the lines, particularly for characters who don’t feature as prominently in the books, but who definitely have the character and credentials for “animal-worthy” activism.

Before beginning, we must address the obvious Erumpent in the room: Cognitive Dissonance (for full details, see ProtegoCast’s published works!)

There is no doubt that many characters in the series, namely Hagrid, demonstrate clear passion and compassion for Magical Creatures, while still engaging with behaviors that contradict this, eg: the consumption of meat, wearing skin / hide / fur clothing, and treating animals as commodities.

On that note, alongside spotlighting their “animal-friendly” actions, each entry will also acknowledge any “Red Sparks” (red flags).

However, as is true of activism and animal rights in the Muggle world, we cannot let the perfect be the enemy of good. Our primary focus is to shine a light on positive actions; they show that there is a strong foundation upon which we can build.

So without further ado, let the list begin!

9. Argus Filch

He may be a minor character, but his devotion to Mrs. Norris deserves some major appreciation.

Hardly a single caretaker cameo goes by without mention of his feline companion, Mrs. Norris.
While Mrs. Norris is described as a “sort of deputy,” implying that she has been commodified, this feline appears all too eager to support Filch’s mission and seems to make free choices.
Even Harry admits that he “couldn’t help feeling a bit sorry for [Filch]” when Mrs. Norris is petrified in Chamber of Secrets. The same can also be said of everyone here at The Protego Foundation and anyone else who has ever known and loved an animal companion.

Red Sparks: None, as far as we can tell. Unlike fellow Squib, Arabella Fig, who has a “roaring trade” breeding half-kneazles (hence the reason she did not make our list), there is no evidence that Filch bought Mrs. Norris from a breeder.

8. Professor Grubbly-Plank

This Care of Magical Creatures teacher may not feature as prominently in the films or books, but in our short time with her, there are key examples of her commitment to animal welfare.

She respects that adult unicorns “prefer a woman’s touch,” so she asks all male students to stand back.
She cares for Hedwig when she is injured and seems to express concern at how far she has travelled.

Red Sparks: She does show a lack of attentiveness for Bowtruckle welfare, as Harry nearly snaps one in half. As a teacher of CoMC, she also inherently supports the capture and handling of magical creatures.

7. Charlie Weasley

Molly and Arthur’s second child graduated Hogwarts and pursued a career as a Dragonologist at the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary. “Sanctuary” suggests that this is a safe space dedicated to the study and protection of dragons rather than for use as entertainment.

In The Philosopher’s Stone, Charlie agrees to take Norberta the Dragon to the Romanian Sanctuary. This provided her with far more safety and freedom than would otherwise have been afforded at Hogwarts, where she would likely have been persecuted upon discovery.
Charlie’s devotion to these most famous of fantastic beasts is evidenced by the fact that he never married nor had children.

Red Sparks: While Charlie’s place of work is described as a “sanctuary,” he does support the commodification of dragons for the Triwizard Tournament. The nature of the First Task - taking an egg from a mother dragon - imposed undue stress on the creatures. Given that the series is so focused on “a mother’s love,” we couldn’t let this fly.

6. Harry Potter

As the protagonist of the series, Harry’s interactions with animals are some of the most varied. Accordingly, while he is unlikely to win a “most inspiring activist” award anytime soon, many of his actions deserve recognition.

While we don’t endorse having owls as companion animals, nor their use as an all-hours, all-weather postal service, Harry does show care and respect for Hedwig. In Chamber of Secrets, his first act upon escaping the Dursleys in the flying Ford Anglia is to free her from her cage, which sees her “soar joyfully out of the window to glide alongside” the car. During that summer, he also sacrificed his own food rations so she could eat. He recognizes how important her presence is to him and that affection seems mutual. Hedwig is often described as “nibbling [Harry’s] ears affectionately.” Reciprocally, Harry expresses deep concern when Hedwig is injured in Order of the Phoenix. “He just wanted to know that Hedwig was going to be all right.”

Harry spearheaded one of the most notable victories for animal rights in the whole series: helping Dobby find freedom. Not only does Harry recognize Dobby’s innate right to be FREE - “as an equal” - he subsequently comes to view him as a friend, as demonstrated by his emotional response to Dobby’s death, which he feels just as deeply as that of previous human bereavements.
In the final book, while Harry does not free Kreacher, he does come to treat him well and gifts him Regulus’s locket; It is an action that moves the elf to tears of gratitude.
Harry shows respect for Buckbeak the hippogriff, both in his initial interactions with him and later in his determination to save Buckbeak’s life. Subsequently, in Half Blood Prince, Harry also tries to make the decision that he believes to be in Buckbeak’s best interest - returning him to the relative freedom of Hogwarts under an alias, Witherwings, rather than having him stay trapped indoors.
When Harry learns the “true” natures of both Rubeus Hagrid and Remus Lupin, his perception of them does not change; he sees soul first and species second, and no “giant / furry little problem” will ever change that.
Harry spearheads his, Ron, and Hermione’s escape on dragonback from Gringotts in Deathly Hallows. And while this action is about self-preservation, there is no doubt that the freed Ukrainian Ironbelly’s new favorite word is “Relashio.”

Red Sparks: Along with many of his peers, Harry is on the record as a meat-eater and also shows no issue with the use of animals in clothes and potion-making. He also occasionally shows disrespect to his companion animal, Hedwig, admonishing her when she is late and putting unrealistic demands on her to work.

5. Rubeus Hagrid

No list of animal-friendly characters would be complete without Hagrid, whose passion for fantastic beasts is one of his most notable traits. He very much embodies Newt’s famous phrase that there are “no strange creatures, only blinkered people,” and there are moments when he succeeds in challenging Harry’s preconceptions: namely, with dragons and hippogriffs.

In Philosopher's Stone, Hagridis determined to find the injured unicorn and help them if he can.
While his decision to hatch Norbert in a wooden hut is naive to say the least, he clearly loves the Norwegian Ridgeback with a giant-sized heart - even if that love is somewhat unrequited.
In Chamber of Secrets, Aragog’s respect for Hagrid is indicative of the latter’s affinity for magical creatures. Acromantula are highly sentient, intelligent creatures, and could easily kill Hagrid if they did not want him there (as shown in Half Blood Prince, after Aragog’s death).

In Prisoner of Azkaban, Hagrid is devastated when Buckbeak is persecuted and does everything he can to care for the hippogriff, which includes bringing him inside the hut so he is not “on his own, outside, at Christmas.”
In Order of The Phoenix, Hagrid brings his giant half-brother, Grawp, back to Hogwarts after fearing that the other, larger giants were bullying him. Hagrid persists in trying to help him, even after incurring numerous painful injuries at Grawp’s hands.
In Half Blood Prince, Hagrid risks his own life to save Fang after the Death Eaters set his hut on fire.There was never any question that he wouldn’t abandon his slobbery canine companion.

Red Sparks: A whole episode of ProtegoCast was devoted to Hagrid and cognitive dissonance. Even with as much passion and compassion that he has for magical creatures, his actions don’t always align. This includes his consumption of meat, medicinal use of dragon flesh, experimental breeding of Blast-Ended Skrewts, and dismissal of S.P.E.W. He also had quite an anthropocentric view of non-human creatures, which was more focused on welfare and paternalism than rights and freedom.

4. Hermione Granger

In Deathly Hallows, the founder of S.P.E.W. solemnly swears to “do some good in the world,” and there is no question that this mission includes non-human causes!

In Chamber of Secrets, she expresses concern over Ron’s use of Errol to deliver a letter and fears that another delivery could finish him off.
In Prisoner of Azkaban, Hermione intends to use birthday money from her parents to buy a companion animal. Though it is never confirmed if Crookshanks was bought or adopted, when Hermione leaves the Magical Menagerie with the half-Kneazle in her arms, she reveals that “he’d been in there for ages, no one wanted him.” Hermione consciously chooses a creature who may otherwise have stayed stuck in the shop forever.
She supports Neville in trying to brew a successful Shrinking Solution after Snape threatens to feed it to (and possibly poison) Trevor the toad.

In Goblet of Fire, Hermione begins one of the most prominent campaigns for animal rights in the series - the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare! While her methods may be a bit militant, the meaning behind them is pure - and Dobby proves how rewarding a life of freedom can be.
Hermione is also one of the few to be kind to Kreacher in Order of The Phoenix and beyond, even when he personally discriminates against her and mocks her blood status.
In Deathly Hallows, she expresses concern for the Ukrainian Ironbelly after escaping from Gringotts, knowing that she has been outside the natural world for a long time and may struggle to adjust. This is a powerful analogy for animals in captivity.

Red Sparks: Hermione’s approach to S.P.E.W. is quite anthropocentric, as she seeks to impose her world view onto the elves without their consent. Plus, she will regularly finish a statement about elfish welfare by helping herself to a meat dish in the Great Hall. Additionally, in Order of The Phoenix, she makes a derogatory comment about Centaurs, claiming that she “never liked horses,” thereby reducing Firenze to his physical appearance.

3. Luna Lovegood

The most whimsical witch of her age is no stranger to being seen as a bit odd, so it should therefore come as little surprise that she shows such empathy to non-human creatures - particularly those who are also seen as “different.”

In the Order of the Phoenix film, we encounter Luna spending time with the Thestral herd in the forest. Based on what she feeds them, she is clearly familiar with their dietary needs and aware that they are carnivores. Their acceptance of her also suggests that she has been here before, as they have a danger classification of XXXX (requiring special knowledge). While this scene is not in the books, Luna’s familiarity with Thestrals appears in Chapter 33, “Fight and Flight.”
She offers to carry Pigwidgeon from the train and describes him as a “sweet little owl” - a comment that takes his human companion by surprise!

Luna has a clear interest in magical creatures and holds an article about Crumple-Horned Snorkacks to the same level of importance as Harry’s interview with Rita Skeeter.
In Deathly Hallows, she shows huge gratitude to Dobby for rescuing her from Malfoy Manor and is seen taking lavender to his grave at Shell Cottage. One can only wonder why Hermione never asked Luna to join S.P.E.W…
In later life, Luna officially becomes a Scamander by marriage to Newt’s grandson, Rolf. They become the magical equivalent of Naturalists, and we can definitely see Newt getting on well with his granddaughter-in-law.

Red Sparks: In Deathly Hallows, Xenophilius claims that Luna is out fishing for freshwater plimpies to make soup, suggesting that she does eat animals. She also takes no issue with Thestrals drawing the school carriages or being ridden, and in Order of the Phoenix, she speaks about trying to “catch” a Crumple-Horned Snorkack in Sweden.

2. Newt Scamander

If you are passionate about animals, you don’t even need to be a Potterhead to adumbledore this kind, determined, and eccentric Magizoologist.

Newt travels all the way to another country (1920’s America) to set Frank the Thunderbird free in his natural habitat - a notable difference from Hagrid’s tendency to collect and keep rather than release. He later rescues a Zouwu from the French circus, Circus Arcanus, remarking, “She was born to run.”
His magic briefcase is a true sanctuary, using powerful spells and enchantments to create natural habitats for each creature Many of the fantastic beasts within it have either been rescued from persecution (like the Zouwu), or are there for conservation (like the Graphorns).
Newt risks his own life for the animals in his case on a regular basis.

Newt’s ultimate goal is to educate the world and promote greater empathy for magical creatures. “We should be protecting them instead of killing them.”
While at the Ministry, Newt created the “ban on experimental breeding” and sees that as his proudest moment. Such a ban ends the practice of humans exploiting animals by taking them out of their natural homes for breeding programs.
There is no clear evidence that Newt consumes meat, and his non-vegan strudel at the Goldstein household appears to be untouched in the first Fantastic Beasts film.

Red Sparks: Newt is seen using animal byproducts - such as Swooping Evil venom - for the benefit of humans.

1. Dobby the Free Elf

While Newt was the obvious contender for most animal-friendly character, upon diving deeper into the series, we realized that the chosen one was none other than everyone’s favorite Free Elf, Dobby! What better advocate for a being’s rights than the being themselves?

Dobby is a trailblazer for universal creature rights. He challenges the notion that only human rights matter and, along with Hermone, prompts other characters - and the reader - to reassess their own preconceptions.
We see how happy Dobby is with his freedom, which enables him to buy his own clothes and materials to make them. (Who knows? Maybe it was Dobby who inspired diver - and HP superfan - Tom Daley to take up knitting!)
In Chamber of Secrets, Dobby prevents Harry from receiving post delivered by owls. Could this be a subtle protest against the barbaric practice? Could Dobby have been paving the way for “S.P.O.W.,” a Society for the Promotion of Owlish Welfare?

Later in that chapter, we also see Dobby levitate - and subsequently drop - a dairy-laden pudding on top of Mrs. Mason’s head. Another silent protest? We’ll let you decide…
He chooses to help Harry in the second task by giving him Gillyweed, one of the few plant-based magical materials. While this wasn’t Dobby’s idea, we would like to think that he would have cried “Riddikulus!” at the thought of animal transfiguration or “gillyfish.”
In Goblet of Fire, Dobby supports Winky when she is fired by Mr. Crouch and tries to help her come to terms with freedom. This includes supporting her through her drinking problem, even when the other elves ignore her plight.
In Order of the Phoenix, Dobby recognizes that his fellow elves may feel uncomfortable cleaning the Gryffindor common room. While he endorses freedom, he recognizes that you need cooperation, not coercion!
Dobby returns Hedwig to Harry and lets her perch on his bobble hat, at great personal risk to his cozy possession. (Knitwear + claws/talons = holes. Always!)

Red Sparks: Not many, as far as our mad-eye can spy! There is a small question mark over the material Dobby uses to make his socks - he describes buying “wool” with his wages; however, with the ever-growing range of animal-free yarn on the market, there is a high possibility that his socks are acrylic, viscose, or even cotton! In a “knutshell,” when it comes to animal-friendly characters, there is no one quite like Dobby!

Let us know if you agree with the characters we selected for this list! Is there anyone else you would add?

Written by Sophie Harrison

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The Most Animal-Friendly Characters in the Wizarding World

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