History of Animal Protection Laws in England


18th Century Britain




Queen Victoria

  • 1822: Martin's Act (mainly regulating cruelty toward cattle and horses)

  • The ideas of Bentham (1748?1832)

    • Pain is the greatest enemy of morality.

    • Animals also possess senses and are capable of feeling pain, therefore they have the right to be treated morally.

    • Those rights should be protected by law.

  • 1853: Queen Victoria underwent painless childbirth using chloroform.

  • 1876: The Protection of Animals Act was enacted        (regulating animal experimentation)

    • It originated from unanesthetized surgery on horses at veterinary schools in France.

    • One of the background influences was Darwin's theory of evolution (1859), which suggested that humans were not supernatural beings but direct descendants of animals.

  • 1986: Current law enacted ? Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act (clarifying definitions concerning pain and experiments)

  • Since the enactment of the Protection of Animals Act, more than 65 laws and regulations have been established.