ASPCA History:
The ASPCA, or the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, has been in business since April 10, 1866 according to the official ASPCA website. According to this article, Henry Bergh, the founder of the ASPCA, was born in 1813. In 1863, Bergh was "appointed to a diplomatic post at the Russian court of Czar Alexander II." There, he started his fight for animal protection. Soon afterward, Bergh moved to London, England, where he visited and took notes from Earl of Harrowby, the president of England's Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which was founded in 1840. On February 6 in 1866, a meeting at Clinton Hall was held against the Spanish entertainment of bull fights. From here, Bergh preached on the horrors of cockfighting and slaughter houses. It was on that day, April 10, 1866, that the ASPCA, with a total of three supporters set off on a mission to help abused and mistreated pets.
ASPCA Today:
Although the ASPCA was first founded in 1866, the impact that this organization has on people of the world is still the same. People back then were horrified when an animal had been brutally abused. The effect is still the same. Today, after a pet has been rescued from the streets or a bad home, the pet is taken care of. Malnutrition, worms, the flu, and any other disease a sick and/or abandoned pet may have is treated and slowly the pet comes to trust people more easily. However, the pet will never trust people as fully as it did before the abuse began. Once the pet is comfortable being with humans, it is put up for adoption. The ASPCA holds drives that allows everyday, normal people to adopt pets that came from a bad home. As mentioned before, these pets were saved from unsafe homes and the streets, were cared for, and put on adoption so they can have a clean beginning at a loving, caring relationship between pet and owner.
Statistics of Abused Animals in the U.S. by State:
Although 2009 is not yet over, there are nearly 700 cases of animal abuse in the United States. In the United States, there have been 46 cases of beatings. The top three states contributing to this are Florida (7 cases), Oregon (4 cases), and New York (4 cases). There are currently 135 cases of fighing - which is not limited only to dogs - in the U.S. The top three contributing states are Florida (13 cases), California (13 cases), and Texas (10 cases). There are only two known cases in the U.S. on hanging, one in California, and one in Minnesota. 74 animals in the U.S. have been hoarded. The top three contributors to this are Florida (7 cases), Texas (6 cases), and Pennsylvania (5 cases). In the mutilation/torture category, there are a total of 28 cases. Florida (4 cases), New York (3 cases), and Texas (3 cases) are the top three states. There have been 289 cases of neglect and abandonment in the United States. The top three states contributing to this are Florida (24 cases), New York (20 cases), and Texas (19 cases). There have been a total of 76 cases of shootings in the U.S. Florida (10 cases), California (6 cases), and Pennsylvania (4 cases) are the top three states. To find the site from where this information came, click the link below in the links section. Please note that this select group of information is shown as states with the highest amount of a particular type of abuse. To recieve more information on another level of input, you must click on another selection identified by underlined blue-gray text.
There are hundreds, maybe even a thousand people in the world who abuse thier pets. However, there are millions of other people who fight against animal abuse. Support the ASPCA and all the other groups and organizations who have made it their life's work to protect animals. Report anyone you hear, see, or know abusing an animal. It can very well be the difference between that animal's life or death.
Tell me how you feel about this blog. Also, if there is anyone out there who knows anything else about the ASPCA that they want to share or find something wrong with the information I put on this site, please feel free to comment on them. I will take the incorrect information off the blog and do my best to replace it - if/when posible - with the correct information. Thank you, and God bless.
Links:
Animal Abuse Statistics Page: http://www.petabuse.com/pages/cruelty_database/statistics.php
ASPCA History Page: http://www.aspca.org/about-us/history.html
ASPCA Home Page: http://www.aspca.org/
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Home Page: http://www.peta.org/
Site on Link Between Human Violence and Animal Cruelty: http://www.paws.org/help/report/connection.php
