| Act of Parliament | |
.svg) | |
| Long title | An Act to amend the Law relating to Cruelty to Animals. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 39 & 40 Vict. c. 77 |
| Territorial extent | United Kingdom |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 15 August 1876 |
| Commencement | 15 August 1876[b] |
| Repealed | 1 January 1987[c] |
| Other legislation | |
| Amends | Cruelty to Animals Act 1849 |
| Amended by | Summary Jurisdiction Act 1884 |
| Repealed by | Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 |
| Relates to | |
Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
TheCruelty to Animals Act 1876[a] (39 & 40 Vict. c. 77) was anact of theParliament of the United Kingdom which set limits on the practice of, and instituted a licensing system foranimal experimentation, amending theCruelty to Animals Act 1849 (12 & 13 Vict. c. 92).
The act stipulated that researchers would be prosecuted for cruelty, unless they conformed to its provisions, which required that an experiment involving the infliction of pain upon animals to only be conducted when "the proposed experiments are absolutely necessary for the due instruction of the persons [so they may go on to use the instruction] to save or prolong human life".[1]
Furthermore, the act stated that should the experiment occur, the animal must beanaesthetised, used only once (though several procedures regarded as part of the same experiment were permitted), and killed as soon as the study was over.[1] Prosecutions under the act could be made only with the approval of theSecretary of State.[2] The Act was applicable tovertebrate animals only.
Opposition tovivisection had led the government to set up aRoyal Commission on Vivisection in July 1875, which recommended that legislation be enacted to control it. This Act was created as a result, but was criticized byNational Anti-Vivisection Society – itself founded in December 1875 – as "infamous but well-named," in that it made no provision for public accountability of licensing decisions. The law remained in force for 110 years, until it was replaced by theAnimals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986,[3] which is the subject of similar criticism from the modernanimal rights movement.
Such was the perceived weakness of the act, that vivisection opponents chose, on at least one occasion – theBrown Dog affair – to incite alibel suit rather than seek a prosecution under the act.[citation needed]
The act stated, in part:
Any person performing or taking part in performing any experiment calculated to give pain, in contravention of this Act, shall be guilty of an offence against this Act, and shall, if it be the first offence, be liable to a penalty not exceeding fifty pounds, and if it be the second or any subsequent offence, be liable, at the discretion of the court by which he is tried, to a penalty not exceeding one hundred pounds or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three months.
The whole act was repealed by section 27(1) of theAnimals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
