What is a timeline of animal rights laws?

The long timeline of animal rights laws reaches as far back as the 19th Century in California. In 1868, the state’s first animal protection statute was passed, outlawing the use of animals in public shows and exhibitions not approved by the county’s board of supervisors. The California Cruelty to Animals Act was passed in 1876; this made it unlawful to “unnecessarily or cruelly” injure, maim, or kill any animal. Subsequent acts followed, including the California Anti-Cruelty Statute of 1895, the act to protect horses in 1906, and the act to protect sheep in 1911. In the 1950s, the Animal Welfare Act of 1956 was passed, which prohibited the transportation of animals in cruel and inhumane conditions. The act was amended in 1966, requiring research laboratories to provide humane care to live animals used in experiments. In the 1960s, the California Cruelty to Animals Act was amended again, with provisions regarding the humane euthanasia of animals and the regulation of animal shelters. The California Cruelty to Animals Act was updated again in 1976, making it illegal to dock horses’ tails and horses’ ears, as well as prohibiting the use of electric prods on animals. In 1988, Proposition 4 was passed, protecting farm animals from cruel and inhumane treatment. Additionally, in 1990, the Veterinary Medicine Practice Act was amended, making it illegal to declaw cats. In recent years, California has implemented some of the strongest animal protection laws in the country, including the California Pet Rescue and Adoption Act of 2017, which requires pet stores to source their puppies and kittens from shelters and rescue organizations. It was also the first state to pass a law banning the extreme confinement of certain farm animals, the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act, in 2018. In 2020, the state passed a first-in-the-nation ban on the sale of fur and a ban on the sale of animal-tested cosmetics.

What is a timeline of animal rights laws?

Related FAQs

Related Blog Posts