History
Following the creation of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) in the UK in 1824 (given Royal status in 1840), Henry Bergh founded the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals on April 10, 1866 in New York City. It is the oldest animal welfare organization in the United States. Buffalo's chapter, founded in 1867, is the second oldest. ASPCA was founded to stop the injustices animals face across the United States. On February 8, 1866, Bergh pleaded on behalf of animals at a meeting at Clinton Hall in New York City. Some of the issues he discussed were cockfighting and the horrors of slaughterhouses. After getting signatures for his "Declaration of the Rights of Animals," Bergh was given an official charter to incorporate ASPCA on April 10, 1866. On April 19, 1866, the first anti-cruelty law was passed since the founding of ASPCA, and the organization was granted the right to enforce anti-cruelty laws. At that time, there were three staff members at the ASPCA. In 1867, ASPCA operated its first ambulance for injured horses and advocated alternatives for inhumane actions toward animals such as horses, live pigeons, cats and dogs. By the time of Bergh's death in 1888, 37 out of the 38 states in the union had enacted anti-cruelty laws that were enforced by the ASPCA. Early goals of ASPCA focused on efforts for horses and livestock, since at the time they were used for a number of activities.
Starting at the turn of the 20th century, small domestic animals, like cats and dogs, became the focus for members of ASPCA. ASPCA wrote its first annual report in 1867 after a man was sentenced to 10 days in prison for beating a cat to death.
From 1894 to 1994, the ASPCA operated the municipal animal shelter system in New York City which inevitably euthanized unadopted animals. Starting in 1977, the ASPCA entered into a contract with New York City Department of Health to receive municipal funding to operate the shelter system. This created the effect of being increasingly reliant on government contracting/government income rather than private donations. This resulted in being subject to the effects of yearly city budget appropriations. In 1993, the ASPCA decided that operating the kill shelter system for New York City conflicted with its mission and discouraged private donations. The group then terminated its contract for operating the shelter system. The agreement for operation of the Humane Law Enforcement Division remained unchanged by this action. Operation of the shelter system was transferred to Center for Animal Care and Control in 1995.
Read more about this topic: American Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals
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