Brooklyn animal welfare organizations collection
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Abstract
The Brooklyn animal welfare organizations collection, spanning the years 1868 to 1903, consists of annual reports and one scrapbook measuring .21 linear feet. The annual reports, dating from 1868 to 1889, were issued from the Brooklyn Agency of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and its predecessor organization the Brooklyn Branch of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The annual reports list detailed tallies of reports of animal abuse, tallies of the enforcement of anti-cruelty laws by the Agency, membership lists, and names of financial donors for the animal ambulance. The collection contains the first annual report of the Brooklyn Branch of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, dated 1868. The report provides a list of arrests and convictions for animal abuse for the year (April 1867 to April 1868). The arrest and convictions list includes the names of those charged with a crime, the crime they were charged with, and the outcome of the charge (discharged, acquitted, absconded, or convicted).
Historical note
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) was founded in New York City in 1866 by Henry Bergh (circa 1811-1888). Several days after the first animal welfare act was passed in the New York state legislature in April of 1866, Bergh set out on the streets of New York City to enforce the newly enacted law. Under the law, acts of cruelty to animals, such as beating a horse or dog fighting, needed to be observed by a bystander in order to be prosecuted; the ASPCA was granted the right of enforcement.
In 1868, the first Brooklyn branch of the ASPCA was organized. In 1881, the branch was permanently established in Brooklyn and the organization changed its name to The Brooklyn Agency for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Its office was located at 415 Fulton Street in what is today the neighborhood of Downtown Brooklyn. The Agency continued the work of the Manhattan-based office, which included enforcing anti-cruelty laws, as well as running animal shelters in Brooklyn.
Following the establishment of the Brooklyn Agency of the ASPCA, other animal welfare organizations were established in Brooklyn including the Brooklyn Women's Dumb Animal Aid Association. Founded in February of 1893, the organization's mission was to encourage and foster humane treatment of animals, to raise funds to support this mission, and to help to secure a permanent building for the ASPCA in Brooklyn.
Sources:
- ASPCA. "History." Accessed December 2, 2010. http://www.aspca.org/about-us/history.html
- Carson, Gerald. "The Great Meddler." American Heritage Magazine 19 (1967). Accessed December 2, 2010. http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1967/1/1967_1_28.shtml
Scope and Contents note
The Brooklyn animal welfare organizations collection, spanning the years 1868 to 1903, consists of annual reports and one scrapbook measuring .21 linear feet. The annual reports, dating from 1868 to 1889, were issued from the Brooklyn Agency of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and its predecessor organization the Brooklyn Branch of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The annual reports list detailed tallies of reports of animal abuse, tallies of the enforcement of anti-cruelty laws by the Agency, membership lists, and names of financial donors for the animal ambulance. The collection contains the first annual report of the Brooklyn Branch of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, dated 1868. The report provides a list of arrests and convictions for animal abuse for the year (April 1867 to April 1868). The arrest and convictions list includes the names of those charged with a crime, the crime they were charged with, and the outcome of the charge (discharged, acquitted, absconded, or convicted).
The scrapbook documents the founding years of the Brooklyn Women's Dumb Animal Aid Association, an organization founded by women to provide aid to animals in need, as well as to support the prevention of cruelty to animals. The scrapbook, dating from 1893 to 1903, includes the organization's printed bylaws, related news clippings, and ephemera created by the organization. The bylaws include the names of the organization's officers.
Subjects
Organizations
Topics
Conditions Governing Access
Open to researchers without restriction.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date (if known); Brooklyn animal welfare organizations collection, ARC.151, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This collection was formally accessioned in 1985, donor unknown.
About this Guide
Processing Information note
Minimally processed to the collection level.
