8 collections related to Animal welfare -- Societies, etc.

Educational publications, advertisements, informational pamphlets, correspondence, subscription forms and ephemera related to animal rights and animal welfare, especially anti-vivisection. This collection appears to originate from the West of England, with a particular focus on the Manchester area. However, the collection also contains material from throughout the United Kingdom and a few materials from the United States. Most of the material was produced and distributed by organizations such as the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection, the Animal Defence and Anti-Vivisection Society, the League for the Prohibition of Cruel Sports, National Society for the Abolition of Cruel Sports, the Victoria Street Society for the Abolition of Vivisection, and others. Also included are Catholic, Quaker, and other religious pamphlets. The collection contains items written by Frances Power Cobbe, Henry Stephens Salt, H. E. Bates, George Bernard Shaw, and H. G. Wells. Members of the Bloomsbury Group, including Virginia Woolf and Clive Bell who are listed as subscribers to some groups, are represented here. There is also material related to and designed by cartoonist and animal rights activist Cyril Kenneth Bird, who went by the pen name 'Fougasse.' The material ranges in date from the 1870s to the 1950s and includes a quantity of material from the interwar period and the era surrounding and following World War II. Although anti-vivisection and animal rights were a concern in the United Kingdom as early as the eighteenth century, the first anti-cruelty law, "The Animal Protection Act" was passed in 1822, outlawing cruelty to cattle, horses, and sheep. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Anmials was formed two years later and had the distinction of being the first animal welfare society in the world, as well as the first law enforcement agency in the United Kingdom. In 1840, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals received the support of Queen Victoria and adopted the name the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Anti-vivisection movements increased in response to an increase in scientific and medical experimentation with mammals in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Despite the commonly held belief that animal rights reemerged as a primary concern in the 1970s, groups advocating for the rights and well-being of animals continued from the nineteeth century into the era following World War II with little stagnation. Less

The Animal Rights and Animal Welfare Publications records contains magazines, journals, newsletters, newspapers, pamphlets, testimonials from federal hearings, books, annual reports, articles, comic books, leaflets, videotapes, catalogs, a screenplay, and an audio CD. Most publications were collected by the Animal Rights Network for their relevance in the treatment of animals. This includes a broad range of publishers and organizations, from animal rights groups, animal shelters, wildlife sanctuaries, laboratory animal providers, animal liberation groups, hunting enthusiasts, political activists, fur trappers, pet dealers, animal breeders, vegetarians, laboratories that experiment on animals, educators, societies for the protection of animals, and pet lovers. Most of these publications were received from the Animal Rights Network; publications from other organizations and individuals have been added to the collection. In 1979, several Connecticut-based animal rights activists withdrew from Friends of Animals, Inc., to found the Animal Rights Network (ARN). ARN joined forces with the animal rights magazine Agenda, and together they worked to unite local, national, and international animal rights groups to achieve common goals. In 2001, the board of directors determined that the role of ARN as a movement building and networking tool was no longer necessary, and formed a new organization called the Institute for Animals and Society (IAS) "to advance animal advocacy issues in public policy development by conducting scholarly research and analysis, providing education and training, and fostering cooperation with other social justice movements and interests." IAS merged with the Society and Animals Forum to create the Animals and Society Institute in 2005. Less

The records of the Animal Welfare Institute include administrative files of both the AWI and the Society for Animal Protective Legislation (SAPL), subject files on animals the organization works to protect, files on legislation that SAPL has been involved with, files on the work of other animal rights groups, subject files on regional activities, photographs, publications, books, and audiovisual materials. Materials of the organization range in date from its founding in the early 1950s to the early 2020's; other materials in the collection date back to the 1930s. The Animal Welfare Institute was created in 1951 as a non-profit, charitable organization focused on reducing the amount of suffering inflicted on animals by humans. The AWI continues to be active in these endeavors today, working to reduce animal cruelty in captive and domestic situations--including farming and laboratories--and also working to protect the rights of animals living in the wild, both on land and in the water. Less

The Argus Archives Records, 1914-2004 (bulk 1970-1990), contain brochures, catalogs, correspondence, legislation, magazines, memorabilia, monographs, news clippings, pamphlets, photographs, research reports, video, and other materials collected and preserved by Argus Archives in pursuit of its goal to be an information source in humane education and to stop unnecessary or particularly cruel forms of animal testing. With particular focus on collecting material relating to humane organizations in the State of New York, Argus Archives actively assembled information on all areas of interest to the humane movement. The collection expanded to include organizations in all of North America and parts of Europe and Asia. Biographical documents of Dallas Pratt and other material such as article reprints date back to 1914. The Argus Archives was founded in New York City by Dallas Pratt in 1969. In addition to acting as a data bank to provide facts to other humane groups with which to influence community leaders and legislators, Argus Archives was also dedicated to the efforts of humane education, supporting change at the community level. Less

The items in this collection were assembled by John Ptak and relate to animal protection issues in the United States. John Ptak was the proprietor of J. F. Ptak Books, Maps, and Prints in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. The store specialized in used, rare, and antiquarian manuscripts, reprints, journals, maps, and prints in mathematics and the sciences. He relocated to Hendersonville, North Carolina and operates JF Ptak Science Books. Less

The Psychologists for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Records is a collection of documents and collected material from the Psychologists for the Ethical Treatment of Animals or PsyETA from 1981 to 2008. There is some material from 1926 in the folder for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and various materials from 2009 and 2013. There are materials that relate to the administration of the organization itself as well as various campaigns they coordinated with, people they collaborated with, papers or lectures, and various educational endeavors. Much of the material was created by Kenneth Shapiro, the President of the Board of Directors, and included are his papers, lectures, and articles published in various journals and magazines. In 2005 the organization changed its name to Society & Animals Forum as documented in the third series. Less

Wayne Besenty Collection of Animal Protection Materials contain a board game, badges, journals, photos, documents, and memorabilia dating from 1819 through 1997. While the largest part of the collection encompasses records related to the activities of the West Los Angeles Humane Society, it also includes a rich body of materials about other humane societies and organizations. The collection also contains some writings and personal items of Wayne and Thomas Besenty. Wayne M. Besenty (1940–2003) was an Animal Control Officer in Long Beach, CA for over 30 years. Throughout his career, he collected materials related to animal welfare and humane societies. After his death, his colleague Nancy Cotton inherited his collection and later donated to the Special Collections Research Center. Less