It seems likely, but I can’t be absolutely sure, that the first American welfare laws in America were published in 1641 by the Puritans of Massachusetts Bay. The Massachusetts Bay Colony was one of the original English settlements in present-day Massachusetts; settled in 1630 by a group of about 1,000 Puritan refugees.
You might have thought, as I did, that being very religious they treated animals as possessions and lived out the concept that humans had dominion over them. And although most immigrants in the New World at that time considered animals as utilitarian and the property of humans, the leaders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony were drafting the first anti-cruelty laws. That was pretty enlightened thinking.
In 1641 the Puritans printed their first legal code entitled “The Body of Liberties”. It spelled-out 100 legal statutes. A statute is a law made by the government.
And within this list of statutes, at 92, there is a reference to animals and it reads:
“No man shall exercise any Tirrany or Crueltie towards any bruite Creature which are usualie kept for man’s use”.
In modern language that would read: “No man shall exercise any tyranny or cruelty towards any brute creature which are usually kept for man’s use”.
The language is of course very old-fashioned and I have put the modern version of the word in square brackets.
This law is very direct and specific. It is unambiguous. It’s simply stating that people cannot be cruel towards animals.
It may well be that this was the first step in the creation of a far more sophisticated animal welfare body of laws created by statute and refined gradually over the intervening approximately 400 years.
Of course, animal welfare is still a major issue. There are still major weaknesses in the enforcement of animal welfare laws. A lot more needs to be done to improve animal welfare in America and in all other countries.
Since those very early days of immigration into America, the general trend in cat ownership is, lately, towards a full-time indoor style of living to protect both the cat and bring peace of mind to the owner. Considering the damage done to the natural world by humans, there is now a greater focus on the protection of wildlife and in this context by domestic and feral cat predation.
The default relationship between cat and person is one in which the cat is allowed outside through a cat flap. With increased urbanisation and increased traffic this cat caretaking standard is being eroded. In America, too, there are far more predators which endanger outdoor cats.
Some local authorities are considering local laws to keep cats indoors full-time. This is not yet happening in America but it has happened in Australia. They lead the way and animal welfare laws are intricately linked with laws to protect wildlife.
I expect laws on cat confinement will become more commonplace and extensive in the years to come.
