Rev. Jeff Rock of Canadian Memorial United Church led ‘Blessing of the Animals’ last Sunday at Granville Dog Park; several local churches are doing the same. Photo: Colleen Cruickshank
The SPCA was in the news last week as it announced plans to build a new animal behaviour centre on Vancouver Island which “will assist fearful, under-socialized animals in need of significant behavioural support become prepared for life in a new home.”
Treatment of animals has come a long way since the SPCA was first formed 200 years ago in England.
The RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) is celebrating that anniversary, describing the earliest days of its movement in this way:
In 1824, a small group of people met in a London coffee shop, determined to change animals’ lives. They created the society that became the RSPCA, sparking a movement that spread around the world.
Before that time, cruelty to animals was widely accepted. Few people kept pets, and animals were used for working, food or entertainment. Setting dogs on chained bulls or bears was considered a sport. Things had to change.
Anti-slavery leader William Wilberforce was one of the founders of the SPCA.
The first-ever law protecting animals was the Cruel Treatment of Cattle Act of 1822. It’s often called Martin’s Act, after Richard Martin who helped get the law passed. He was one of 22 people who went on to meet at Old Slaughter’s Coffee House, St Martin’s Lane, on 16 June 1824.
With him was the Reverend Arthur Broome, credited as our founder, and anti-slave trade campaigner William Wilberforce. By forming what became the RSPCA, they prompted a vital social shift in how people thought about animals.
Today, we’re the oldest and largest animal welfare society in the world – but our vision and mission honour these beginnings.
The ‘R’ was added to SPCA in 1840 when Queen Victoria gave permission for the SPCA to add ‘Royal’ to its name.
The Guinness Book of World records noted that the RSPCA “has been rescuing animals for the last 200 years . . . An incredible milestone, which was made even more special as the UK-based non-profit association was officially recognized as the oldest animal welfare charity in the world.”
Connected to abolition of slavery
In the current issue of The Big Picture – published by the Kirby Laing Centre for Public Theology in Cambridge – Director Craig Bartholomew wrote ‘Justice for All: The (R)SPCA Turns 200.’
He offered more detail about the founders of the movement:
What motivated most of these activists? They were by no means all Christians, but the majority were, and many were keen Evangelicals. Indeed, many of them [including William Wilberforce] were the same people who worked tirelessly for the abolition of slavery.
In 1831 Broome published an edited and annotated version of Rev Humphrey Primatt’s A Dissertation on the Duty of Mercy and Sin of Cruelty to Brute Animals, which gives one an insight into the motivations of these activists.
Primatt, for example, extends Jesus’ golden rule of Matthew 7:12 to horses, asking, “Do You that are a Man SO treat your horse AS you would be willing to be treated by your master, in case that You were a Horse?”
Bartholomew added:
One would think that churches across the UK and in so many other countries would be celebrating the 200th anniversary of the SPCA and its Christian origins, but if they are I am not seeing it. An internet search yields few results. And yet this is a major way in which Christian witness has penetrated deep into many of our cultures and has been welcomed by Christian and non-Christian alike.
Theologically it is called ‘common’ grace – God’s activity in history restraining evil and promoting flourishing, in this case through the courageous initiative of a small group of people willing to stand up against pervasive cruelty. The anniversary of the SPCA is a marvellous opportunity to bear witness to the Christ who goes to the cross in order to read the whole creation in an exodus from sin and death, including the abuse of animals.
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SPCA in BC
The SPCA in BC claims to be the oldest charity in the province, having celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2020.
Their timeline notes for 1895:
A small group of clergy, journalists and businessmen concerned about the mistreatment of work horses successfully lobbies the BC government to establish laws protecting animals from abuse and neglect.
A more recent connection with the church is the long-time participation of Chief Communications Officer Lorrie Chortyk, formerly editor of Topic (Anglican Diocese of New Westminster).