The Cruelty to Animals Act 1835 was an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

(5 & 6 Will. 4, c. 59), intended to protect animals, and in particular cattle, from mistreatment. Its

long title In certain jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and other Westminster-influenced jurisdictions (such as Canada or Australia), as well as the United States and the Philippines, primary legislation has both a short title and a long title. The ...

is An Act to Consolidate and Amend the Several Laws Relating to the Cruel and Improper Treatment of Animals, and the Mischiefs Arising from the Driving of Cattle, and to Make Other Provisions in Regard Thereto.

Passage

The Act was introduced as a bill by the

member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for

South Durham South Durham, formally the Southern Division of Durham and often referred to as Durham Southern, was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected two M ...

Joseph Pease Joseph Pease may refer to: * Joseph Pease (railway pioneer) (1799–1872), railway owner, first Quaker elected Member of Parliament ** Sir Joseph Pease, 1st Baronet (1828–1903), MP 1865–1903, full name Joseph Whitwell Pease, son of Joseph Pease ...

, who was a Quaker and a member of the committee of the

Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals A Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) is a common name for non-profit animal welfare organizations around the world. The oldest SPCA organization is the RSPCA, which was founded in England in 1824. SPCA organizations operate i ...

. The law was passed in part due to lobbying by the Society (founded 1824, since 1840 the RSPCA). The Act was repealed and replaced by the

Cruelty to Animals Act 1849 The Cruelty to Animals Act 1849The citation of this Act by this short title was authorised by the Short Titles Act 1896, section 1 and the first schedule. Due to the repeal of those provisions it is now authorised by section 19(2) of the Interpre ...

12 & 13 Vict. c. 92.

Animal baiting

The British legal action to protect animals began with the passing of the

Cruel Treatment of Cattle Act 1822 The Cruel Treatment of Cattle Act 1822 (3 Geo. IV c. 71) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom with the long title "An Act to prevent the cruel and improper Treatment of Cattle"; it is sometimes known as Martin's Act, after the MP an ...

to Prevent Cruel and Improper Treatment of Cattle.''The Rights of Persons, According to the Text of Blackstone: Incorporating the Alterations Down to the Present Time'', Sir

William Blackstone Sir William Blackstone (10 July 1723 – 14 February 1780) was an English jurist, judge and Tory politician of the eighteenth century. He is most noted for writing the ''Commentaries on the Laws of England''. Born into a middle-class family ...

and James Stewart, 1839, p. 79. The 1835 Act amended the existing legislation to prohibit the keeping of premises for the purpose of staging the baiting of bulls, dogs, bears, badgers or "other Animal (whether of domestic or wild Nature or Kind)", which facilitated further legislation to protect animals, create shelters, veterinary hospitals and more humane transportation and slaughter. The Act also banned (but failed to eradicate)

dog fighting Dog fighting is a type of blood sport that turns game and fighting dogs against each other in a physical fight, generally to the death, for the purposes of gambling or entertainment to the spectators. In rural areas, fights are often staged in ...

and

cockfighting A cockfight is a blood sport, held in a ring called a cockpit. The history of raising fowl for fighting goes back 6,000 years. The first documented use of the ''word'' gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or ente ...

. By the 18th century bear-baiting had largely died out in Britain, with the cost of importing bears for blood sports prohibitively high, but bull-baiting remained popular and

and

were common. At the time of the Act, the "bull stone" of

Leslie, Fife Leslie (Scottish Gaelic: Fiodh Chill) is a large village and parish on the northern tip of the River Leven Valley, to the west of Glenrothes in Fife. According to the population estimates (2006), the village has a population of 3,092. The village ...

was first recorded in the '' New Statistical Account of Scotland'' as an item which had already fallen out of use. It is a large stone to which bulls and occasionally bears were tied before being baited.

References

External links

An Act to Consolidate and Amend the Several Laws Relating to the Cruel and Improper Treatment of Animals, and the Mischiefs Arising from the Driving of Cattle, and to Make Other Provisions in Regard Thereto''“Rational Recreation” and the Law: The Transformation of Popular Urban Leisure in Victorian England'' by Rachel Vorspan
1835 in law United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1835 Repealed United Kingdom Acts of Parliament Cruelty to animals Animal welfare and rights legislation in the United Kingdom {{Animal-rights-stub

Passage

Animal baiting

See also

References

Further reading

External links