6 collections related to Animal welfare -- Moral and ethical aspects

Educational publications, advertisements, informational pamphlets, correspondence, subscription forms and ephemera related to animal rights and animal welfare, especially anti-vivisection. This collection appears to originate from the West of England, with a particular focus on the Manchester area. However, the collection also contains material from throughout the United Kingdom and a few materials from the United States. Most of the material was produced and distributed by organizations such as the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection, the Animal Defence and Anti-Vivisection Society, the League for the Prohibition of Cruel Sports, National Society for the Abolition of Cruel Sports, the Victoria Street Society for the Abolition of Vivisection, and others. Also included are Catholic, Quaker, and other religious pamphlets. The collection contains items written by Frances Power Cobbe, Henry Stephens Salt, H. E. Bates, George Bernard Shaw, and H. G. Wells. Members of the Bloomsbury Group, including Virginia Woolf and Clive Bell who are listed as subscribers to some groups, are represented here. There is also material related to and designed by cartoonist and animal rights activist Cyril Kenneth Bird, who went by the pen name 'Fougasse.' The material ranges in date from the 1870s to the 1950s and includes a quantity of material from the interwar period and the era surrounding and following World War II. Although anti-vivisection and animal rights were a concern in the United Kingdom as early as the eighteenth century, the first anti-cruelty law, "The Animal Protection Act" was passed in 1822, outlawing cruelty to cattle, horses, and sheep. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Anmials was formed two years later and had the distinction of being the first animal welfare society in the world, as well as the first law enforcement agency in the United Kingdom. In 1840, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals received the support of Queen Victoria and adopted the name the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Anti-vivisection movements increased in response to an increase in scientific and medical experimentation with mammals in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Despite the commonly held belief that animal rights reemerged as a primary concern in the 1970s, groups advocating for the rights and well-being of animals continued from the nineteeth century into the era following World War II with little stagnation. Less

The Bernard Unti Book and Ephemera Collection on Animal Studies contains books, pamphlets, ephemera, and material culture objects tied to the history of the kindness-to-animals ethic, organized animal protection, vegetarianism, anti-vivisection and related concerns. The majority of the collection is comprised of books with many dating to the 1800s and early 20th Century. Bernard Unti, Ph.D., is an animal rights and welfare advocate who served as Senior Policy Adviser and Special Assistant to the President and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) from 2004 to 2021. Unti was then hired as Senior Principal Strategist in Communications for the HSUS. Unti is the author of Protecting All Animals: A Fifty-Year History of The Humane Society of the United States (2004), which covers the history of the HSUS from its creation to the early twentieth century. Unti has also written a number of essays and articles on animal cruelty as a historical and contemporary issue. In addition to working for the HSUS and Humane Society International, he worked at the Animal Anti-Vivisection Society (AAVS) in various positions from 1985 to 1992, including the position of Executive Director. Less

The Catherine Roberts Papers contain various writings relating to animal rights. These papers include a selection of Roberts's published writings, correspondence received by Roberts, and a collection of philosophical publications that contain articles written by some of her colleagues. Born in California in 1917, Catherine Roberts trained as a microbiologist and geneticist, but then turned away from a career as a scientist and dedicated herself to writing about science, ethics, and religion. Less

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) Records include original correspondence, publications, animal rights research, legislative files, voting ballots, reports, grants, memorabilia, and photographs dating from 1918, with the bulk of the records from the 1960s to the 2010s. These materials encompass the full range of the organization's activities in promoting the protection of companion animals, farm animals, animals in laboratories, and wildlife. Additionally, the records reflect the organization’s special focus on public policy, humane education, and direct animal care work. Researchers should be advised that SCRC staff has identified materials in this collection that depict animal cruelty and abuse. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), originally known as the National Humane Society, is an animal welfare and rights nonprofit organization that was first formed in 1954 by former members of the American Humane Association (AHA). The organization committed itself to preventing cruelty to animals of all kinds as a part of the national animal humane movement. Since 1954, the HSUS has expanded its operations to include animal rights and welfare advocacy, education, legislation, research, investigation, and field services. The HSUS has been instrumental in lobbying for federal animal rights and welfare legislation, including the Humane Slaughter Act of 1958, the Laboratory Animal Welfare Act of 1966, and the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act of 2006. For a more comprehensive historical timeline and a list of abbreviations related to the HSUS, refer to the document available online. Less

This collection contains annual reports from the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA). These annual reports are from the years 1994-2005. The collection also contains publications published from 1822-2018. This collection was created by the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA or MSPCA-Angell). The MSPCA is a non-profit organization that protects animals, relieves their suffering, advances their health and welfare, and prevents cruelty. The MSPCA was founded in 1868. It is the second-oldest humane society in the United States. Less