American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) History
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty is an organization that was established in the 1800s to see to it that there was the elimination of animal mistreatment in the United States. These ranged from сats, dogs, horses, and other animals that were subjected to be used by human beings.
How ASPCA Has Started?
In 1866, Henry Bergh founded the organization after he was troubled seeing animals being mistreated by humans. The organization came up with an ambulance for injured horses in the same year, two years before the invention of the human ambulance in New York City.
On April 10, 1866, Bergh’s passion for seeing the decline of animal cruelty presented the Charter to the New York Legislature, which was passed nine days later. This was a significant milestone because the ASPCA could now investigate any animal cruelty and make arrests where possible.
Henry continued fighting for the rights of animals, and in eight years, he came up with a canvas sling in a bid to rescue horses. The sling was, however, used during Europe’s World War 1 on the battlefields.
Apart from these milestones, other significant developments in the years came up due to the ASPCA. These are explained here below.
The Animal Rescue
This happened from 1894-1994 when the ASPCA came up with municipal animal shelters, which took care of the unadopted animals. The organization was honored after signing a contract with the New York City Department of Health in 1977.
It is at this point that ASPCA was able to receive municipal funding. However, the organization did not renew the contract in 1995 but instead transferred to the Centre for Animal Care and Control. The transfer resulted from the effects of the city budget appropriations, where ASPCA relied so much on government donations rather than private donations, which did not yield much.
ASPCA took a riskier step in 1996 by acquiring the Animal Poison Control Centre from the University of Illinois. And in 2013, it signed a $25 commitment risk management contract to support vulnerable animals. This was done through campaigns around South Los Angeles metropolitan areas.
The 2000’s Milestone Effect
With all the efforts that ASPCA has made to stop animal cruelty, it has now become evident that the organization is part and parcel of animal protection against any disasters, including dog fighting raids, natural catastrophes, and intervention during any cruelty experiences.
Unfortunately, there were Hurricane Katrina and Rita in 2005. But ASPCA deployed staff to relocate to those areas to help in the rescue process. In the rescue mission, ASPCA granted more than $13 million to shelters and organizations in the region to help with the resettlement.
2007 was another great year that we experienced another success where brutal dog fighting was investigated by the team that Michael Vick led. This force persisted until such a time that it achieved its purpose. In 2013, the achievement was celebrated during the groundbreaking ceremony when ASPCA partnered with the New York Police Department (NYPD).
In 2014, ASPCA joined the new New York City mayor Bill de Blasio’s campaign in a bid to stop horse-drawn carriages in the area.
ASPCA later acquired the Asheville, NC-based Human Alliance, which later was empowered to become the ASPCA community Veterinary Centre in Liberty City, Miami.
All these significant achievements were done to stop the cruelty animals experienced all along.
The ASPCA has remained an influential company by offering direct protection to animals through adoption and provision of shelter. In Manhattan alone, an average of 2,000 animals have been adopted. Besides, the organization has lobbied for animal prevention legislation, provided grants, and voluntarily taken on research methods to see how much they can stop animal cruelty.
Innovations Into the Future of Animal Protection
Although ASPCA’s main focus was on ensuring that animals are safe, they have also taken magical steps to ensure that they get a permanent home in every part of the American Cities. This we have seen it being made possible from the joint efforts of the police department in New York.
An average of 75 people have been arrested per year for misusing animals, which has brought up a positive change now and in the future about taking care of animals.
