Introduction: RSPCA co-founder Anglican clergyman Rev. Arthur Broome (1779-1837) (Note 1) wrote a tract in 1801 entitled Unjustifiableness of Cruelty to the Brute Creation. Inspired by Proverbs 31:8 (KJV) -- “Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction.” -- the sermon calls upon the public to speak out for the badly abused, downtrodden, and tormented animals who cannot speak human language. What is so precious, pioneering, and bold about this tract is that it assumes that animals have rights which are, however, usurped by humans; that both animals and humans, being the handicraft of the same Almighty God, are “EQUALLY entitled” to survival and freedom from torture; and that when we treat animals cruelly, we are violating the universal value of compassion and sinking ourselves below the level of the good-natured sentient beings whom we tyrannize.
Broome’s sermon is extremely unusual and progressive in that it treats animals as our equals. For two thousand years, most theologians and priests who interpret human “dominion” over animals (Genesis 1:26) as absolute power (the hardcore model of “dominion”), as represented by St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Martin Luther, etc., would treat animals as things primary created for human use with no rights at all. Even Stephen Webb, who agrees that “dominion” means stewardship (the soft model of “dominion”) rather than despotism (Webb 2001:13), is adamant that humans are superior to animals not only in their intelligence but also in their divinely given place in the cosmos (Webb 2001: 36).
But Broome could only be right. For God is love (1 John 4:7 NIV); God loves the world (John 3:16), including ALL His creation (Psalm 145:9); and Christ is compassion (Matthew 12:6-7). In becoming flesh, God has actually dissolved all the boundaries amongst His sentient creatures (Clough 2012:103) so that animals are our sisters and brothers.
Broome expanded and re-released the sermon in 1824. The text of the 1801 version of the sermon reads:
The wise man calls upon us to “open our mouths.” The “dumb,” in whose cause we are required to do this, are the unhappy victims of their lawless cruelty and oppression; wretches, who have no kind advocate to plead in behalf of their invaded rights; no helping hand to procure for them redress from their furious assailants; no friend to truth, ready, or willing, to expose the cunning devices wherewith they have been entrapped.—Well may they be called “dumb,” since their tongues can be of no avail to them, when silenced by the imperiousness of wealth, the dread of irritating, by a vain appeal to justice, those under whose hands they have already groaned, to still further acts of violence, and their utter inability to baffle the false gloss with which the vile schemes of their adversaries have deluded them.
What they have it not in their power to utter for themselves, justice is ever ready to proclaim for them. By acts of cruelty, or an unfeeling inattention to the relief of their wants and distresses, we violate that branch of it which is distinguished by the endearing title of Mercy and Compassion; we debase our nature by betraying a savageness of disposition, that sinks us below a level with the placid and gentle race over which we unwarrantably tyrannise.
But, can we conceive it to be allowable for us wantonly to sacrifice quiet and harmless reptiles, merely because the shape and figure which it has pleased the God of Nature to stamp upon them, are loathsome in our eyes? The “bloated toad,” the “slimy snail,” and “unsightly beetle,” have not all these, their feelings, as we have ours? Are they not the work of the same Almighty hand by which we likewise were framed? And are not their lives entitled to preservation, and freedom from misery, equally with our own?
Let us “open our mouths” for those “dumb,” but significant and friendly clients: let us make up, by every plea which we can urge in their favour, what their own tongues are unable to express: let the wailings and moans, with which they implore our assistance, operate as the strongest arguments on our feeling, commiserating minds. Oh! let us not be “dumb” ourselves, but loud in their defence.(see The Amateur Casual 2011)
Notes
1. Reverend Arthur Broome (1779-1837), a Devonshire man, educated at Balliol, an MA, became Vicar of the parish of Bromley-by-Bow in 1822. As early as 1809, he already formed a "Society for the Suppression and Prevention of Wanton Cruelty to Animals", which, however, was unable to continue. In 1824, together with Richard Martin M.P., William Wilberforce, a philanthropist and moral advocate famous for his role in abolishing the slave trade, inventor and author Lewis Gompertz, etc., Broome founded The SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), and was elected the Honorary Secretary.
Despite energetic and dedicated committee members, the newly-formed SPCA nearly collapsed within its first two years due to insufficient funds. By 1826, the organization’s funds were nearly exhausted, leading to a significant suspension of activities for almost two years, despite Mr. Broome resigning his position to dedicate himself fully to the cause. The situation worsened when Arthur Broome, responsible for the Society’s debts, was imprisoned in January 1826. Gompertz and a few friends quickly raised enough money to pay the debts and secure Broome’s release. With minimal financial resources, the SPCA continued to address various issues, including the misconduct at the Smithfield meat market, punishing cat skinners and men using dogs for draft purposes, and alleviating the suffering of horses.
To Dick Martin must go the credit of being the first person on earth to ever push a law (Cruel Treatment of Cattle Act 1822) through any Parliament that recognizes animals' rights. Much of the SPCA's early success relied on enforcing Martin’s Act. From its inception, the Society employed an Inspector, with Mr. Broome personally hiring Mr. Wheeler from 1822 until the official formation of the Society in 1824. However, due to financial constraints, Wheeler's official role ended, although he continued volunteering and was later awarded the Society's Silver Medal.
In 1832, two SPCA inspectors attempted to stop a cockfight in Hanworth, Middlesex. Secretary Henry Thomas enlisted the help of six Bow Street patrolmen, who arrested seven participants. Unfortunately, Inspector James Piper was so severely beaten up by the cockers that h later died in the hospital.
The SPCA gradually gained strength. In 1835, the Duchess of Kent agreed to be the society’s patron, and two years later, when the Duchess became Queen Victoria, she generously supported the Society. She allowed the SPCA to add "Royal" to its name and contributed to the design of the Queen's Medal by sketching a cat. The Society expanded, opening branches in Dublin, Wakefield, and Plymouth, and inspiring similar organizations abroad in Germany, France, Austria, Belgium, and Holland, etc.
References
Clough, David (2012). On Animals, Vol. One,, Systematic Theology. London/NY: T&T Clark.
The Amateur Casual (2011). “Abuse of Our Powers Over Animals.” The Victorianist Blogspot, Jun 10. https://thevictorianist.blogspot.com/2011/06/abuse-of-our-powers-over-animals-or.html
Unknown (1972). “The History of the RSPCA.” Animal Legal and Historical Center, College of Law, Michigan State University. https://www.animallaw.info/article/history-rspca
Webb H. Webb (2001). Good Eating. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press.
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