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Cruelty to Animals Act 1835
Act of Parliament
	Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to Consolidate and Amend the Several Laws Relating to the Cruel and Improper Treatment of Animals, and the Mischiefs Arising from the Driving of Cattle, and to Make Other Provisions in Regard Thereto.
Citation	5 & 6 Will. 4. c. 59
Dates
Royal assent	9 September 1835
Other legislation
Amends	Cruel Treatment of Cattle Act 1822
Repealed by	Cruelty to Animals Act 1849
Status: Repealed

The Cruelty to Animals Act 1835 (5 & 6 Will. 4. c. 59) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, intended to protect animals, and in particular cattle, from mistreatment. Its long title is An Act to Consolidate and Amend the Several Laws Relating to the Cruel and Improper Treatment of Animals, and the Mischiefs Arising from the Driving of Cattle, and to Make Other Provisions in Regard Thereto.^[1]

Passage

The act was introduced as a bill by the member of parliament for South Durham, Joseph Pease, who was a Quaker and a member of the committee of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.^[2] The law was passed in part due to lobbying by the society (founded 1824, since 1840 the RSPCA). The act was repealed and replaced by the Cruelty to Animals Act 1849 (12 & 13 Vict. c. 92).

Animal baiting

The British legal action to protect animals began with the passing of the Cruel Treatment of Cattle Act 1822 to Prevent Cruel and Improper Treatment of Cattle.^[3] The 1835 Act amended the existing legislation to prohibit the keeping of premises for the purpose of staging the baiting of bulls, dogs, bears, badgers or "other Animal (whether of domestic or wild Nature or Kind)",^[1] which facilitated further legislation to protect animals, create shelters, veterinary hospitals and more humane transportation and slaughter. The Act also banned (but failed to eradicate) dog fighting and cockfighting.^[2]

By the 18th century bear-baiting had largely died out in Britain, with the cost of importing bears for blood sports prohibitively high, but bull-baiting remained popular and dog fighting and cockfighting were common.^[2] At the time of the Act, the "bull stone" of Leslie, Fife was first recorded in the New Statistical Account of Scotland as an item which had already fallen out of use. It is a large stone to which bulls and occasionally bears were tied before being baited.^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b "1835: 5 & 6 William 4 c.59: Cruelty to Animals Act". The Statutes Project. 3 December 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c "When baiting bears and bulls was legal..." The Independent. 17 June 1997. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
^ The Rights of Persons, According to the Text of Blackstone: Incorporating the Alterations Down to the Present Time, Sir William Blackstone and James Stewart, 1839, p. 79.
^ Walker, B.; Ritchie, J. N. G. (1987). "Fife and Tayside". canmore.org.uk. Exploring Scotland's heritage. Edinburgh. p. 64. Retrieved 12 July 2020.