Humane history

1877 American Humane — the country’s first national humane organization — was founded on October 9 in Cleveland, Ohio, by local humane society representatives from around the United States.

1879 American Humane passed a resolution to promote humane education in public schools and to discourage animal cruelty in classrooms experiments and demonstrations.

1883 Concerned about child abuse and abandoned babies, American Humane promoted the passage of the first Cruelty to Children Act.

1885 American Humane advocated for “humane fountains” — still found in many city squares today — as one of many improvements in the care of fire department, police, and postal horses.

1891 American Humane launched a national campaign to draw attention to the increasing crime of infanticide.

1893 American Humane's member societies prosecuted 5,520 cases of cruelty to children.

1894 The Link® between violence toward animals and violence toward people was first mentioned at American Humane's annual convention: “The man who was cruel to his beast would be unkind to his wife and child.”

1898 Responding to intense pressure from American Humane, Congress passed a bill prohibiting the practice of vivisection (dissection of live animals) in schools and placed scientists who perform the procedure under governmental regulation and supervision.

1902 Along with the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union, American Humane formed a major committee to limit child labor in the emerging textile industry in the South.

1905 American Humane headquarters established in an abandoned hospital in suburban Albany, N.Y. Prior to this, the organization had no regular office, no furniture, and no paid employees.

1910 American Humane joined in partnership with local police forces to prevent the abuse of workhorses and assist in cruelty investigations.

1913 American Humane's quarterly magazine, The National Humane Review, was published for the first time.

1915 American Humane initiated Be Kind to Animals Week® and launched a national poster contest for children.

1916 The United States Secretary of War invited American Humane “to undertake the work of doing for Army animals what the American Red Cross is doing for soldiers.” American Humane created American Red Star Animal Relief to rescue wounded horses on the battlefields of World War I.

1920 After the war, the Red Star program turned its attention to rescuing animals caught in disaster areas, and provided money to purchase feed that saves thousands of elk in Yellowstone National Park from starving to death.

1925 American Humane set up a committee to investigate cruelties in the training of animals for the movies.

1931 American Humane approved a set of standards for child protection societies, which urged them to maintain the privacy rights of the children and adults they serve and to employ professional caseworkers.

1933 American Humane launched a campaign to end the practice of giving children dyed chicks as Easter gifts.

1935 American Humane urged the Federal Bureau of Biological Survey to discontinue the use of poison in the control of predatory animals.

1937 The Mississippi River flooded and American Humane's Red Star Animal Relief helped rescue and feed stranded farm animals.

1941 American Humane established standards of operation for animal protection societies.

1943 The National Education Association and American Humane launched a campaign asking teachers throughout the United States to refrain from any kind of hatred in education and to protect children from racial or religious taunts.

1946 Red Star responded when a strike by railroad workers left animals across the country stranded on trains with no one to move them or unload them.

1947 American Humane started training programs for professional in humane fields.

1950 American Humane issued Standards for Child Protective Services Agencies, which clearly defined physical abuse, neglect and emotional abuse and identified a three-stage process of child protective work, including fact-finding, diagnosis and treatment.

1951 American Humane’s Western Regional Office created a “stamp of approval” awarded to films committed to humane practices in filming animals.

1952 American Humane vocally opposed tobacco industries using animals in tests designed to measure the harshness of cigarette smoke on smokers’ throats.

Active Start in the Protection of Laboratory Animals: 1954-66

To inform constituents of the organization's activities, The HSUS established a bimonthly newsletter, HSUS News, in April 1955.

1956 Vincent De Francis, director of Children’s Services at American Humane, published the results of the first national inventory of child protective services, which provided comprehensive report of the state of child welfare practice in the United States.

To extend the scope of its work, the Society began to organize self-supporting state branches in 1957.

1958: The Humane Methods of Slaughter Act is passed.

One outcome of the investigations was a legal complaint filed in California in 1959 to protect laboratory animals from abuses prohibited by law.

Beginning in 1960 local humane societies were allowed to affiliate with The HSUS when they met certain standards of operation.

1961: The HSUS publishes its first book, Animals in a Research Laboratory.

1963 American Humane proposed that all 50 states pass laws requiring doctors who discover injuries inflicted on children to report the cases to child protective services.

The fate of animals bound for research was publicized in Life magazine's February 4, 1966 issue as a cover story, entitled "Concentration Camp for Dogs." The photographic essay followed a raid on a dog dealer by the Maryland State Police with HSUS Chief Investigator Frank McMahon.

1967 Red Star sent aid to help animals abandoned or left homeless after the Detroit riots.

1970 American Humane tackled pet overpopulation, suggesting that owners spay or neuter their animals.

1972 American Humane’s first “No Animals Were Harmed”® end credit was issued to the movie The Doberman Gang.

The Bureau of Land Management, the federal agency responsible for enforcing the Wild and Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act, was investigated in 1973 for improperly administering the law.

The organization's work included investigations into organized dog fighting, promoting the enactment of felony penalties against these activities in many states; the first law was passed in 1975.

In 1976 The HSUS established disaster relief plans to protect pets and their caregivers during an emergency.

An important milestone involved the publication of On the Fifth Day in 1977, a collection of essays by scholars supporting a humane philosophy regarding animals.

The first state law to ban cockfighting passed in 1978.

By 1979 the organization's membership included 115,000 people, the staff counted 80 employees, and the budget approached $2 million.

1980 The public outcry over the callous disregard for animal safety and well-being during the filming of Heaven’s Gate resulted in the film industry reinstating American Humane’s authority to protect animals on set, through a contractual agreement with the Screen Actors Guild.

1981 American Humane celebrated its first annual Adopt-A-Dog Month®, to encourage the adoption of dogs from local animal shelters.

1983 At American Humane’s urging, the United States House of Representatives established the Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families.

1984 The first issue of American Humane’s journal child welfare professionals, Protecting Children, is published.

The HSUS created the Center for Respect of Life and Environment (CRLE) in 1986 to promote humane values and collaboration in the fields of higher education, religion, the professions, and the arts.

1988: The "Be a P.A.L.--Prevent a Litter" and "Shame of Fur" campaigns are launched.

1989 The Meacham Foundation Memorial Grant allowed American Humane to being awarding grants to shelters to provide financial assistance for building expansion or improvements that directly impact the welfare of animals.

In 1990 The HSUS called for a national boycott of dogs raised in puppy-mills.

In 1991 the Society hosted its first Animal Care Expo, which grew to be the world's largest trade show for animal care professionals.

In 1992 The HSUS established Humane Society International (HSI). HSI's first work involved addressing the problem of animals and birds confiscated in the illegal wildlife trade.

Agricultural campaigns included National Farms Animals Awareness Week, launched in 1993.

In 1995 The HSUS created the Wildlife Land Trust.

The HSUS promoted understanding of wild creatures living in cities through a newsletter, Wild Neighbor News, and through the 1997 publication of Wild Neighbors: The Humane Approach to Living with Wildlife.

The HSUS Urban Wildlife Sanctuary Program was launched in 1998 to promote the protection and appreciation of wild animals living in urban areas.

1999 American Humane’s first Tag Day™ was celebrated to help lost pets get reunited with owners.

The Pets for Life project expanded in 2000 with the formation of the Pets for Life National Training Center.

In October 2001, The HSUS won a victory with the passage of the Humane Slaughter Act Amendment.

2002 Red Star responded to the Rodeo-Chediski fire in Arizona, the largest wildfire in Arizona history.

In 2004, the Humane Society of Tampa Bay began the “No Kill for Space” program which means that no adoptable animal is euthanized to make room for another coming through the door.

2005 Red Star Animal Emergency Services deployed to Louisiana to help animal victims of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma.

2007 American Humane established the Child Protection Research Center to address long-standing issues related to the improvement of public child protective services.

In 2008, HSTB opened a Wellness Clinic and began offering veterinary services at affordable rates to owned pets in the community.

2009 UNICEF chose American Humane’s Child Protection Research Center and its partner, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, to work on its international household surveys on child discipline.

2011 Established the Animal Welfare Research Institute to explore and achieve advances in predictive, preventive and participatory methods to save animals’ lives and improve their quality of life.

In 2012, our Wellness and Spay/Neuter clinics were expanded to a full-service, high-quality, affordable veterinary hospital located in our 10,000+ square foot state-of-the-art Animal Health Center.

2013 Released vital new data showing that of all the animals adopted from shelters, up to 1 million are lost, die, or given away within six months.

In 2014 the Animal Health Center became the first non-profit veterinary hospital in Florida to be accredited by American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA).

Celebrated the launch of a powerful new voice for children and animals – the new, bipartisan “Congressional Humane Bond Caucus” – and hosted three Capitol Hill briefings in 2015.

2018 Saved, sheltered, and fed more than 600,000 animals in desperate need, with American Humane Rescue deploying to help thousands of animal victims of hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, as well as the California wildfires.

2019: The longstanding need to improve sheltering for animals was achieved with a new, 9,500 square-foot Pet Adoption Center opening in October.

2020 Served more than 1 million meals to animals in need during the pandemic through our national “Feed the Hungry/COVID-19” campaign.