animalist

1. (philosophy) One who believes in the dominance of man's animal nature in behavior.Examples: "The animalist’s claim that all persons must be animals, if true, will have to be a posteriori truth."; "The hard question for the animalist is whether bodily continuity is necessary for the survival of the animal and, if so, what kind of bodily continuity."

2. (art) A painter or sculptor whose primary subject is animals.Examples: "And in my opinion, the reason we have so few good animalists among modern artists is because the domestication of species and man's development have obscured their deeper visual significance for most of us."Synonyms: animalier

3. (literature) A writer of animal stories.

4. (rare) One who believes that microorganisms cause disease.rare