A
humane society may be a group that aims to stop human or animal
suffering due to
cruelty or other reasons, although in many countries, it is now used mostly for societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals (
SPCAs). In the
United Kingdom, it may also be a society that provides a waterways rescue, prevention, and recovery service, or that gives awards for the saving of human life.
The first Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), based on the British Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), was set up in Victoria in 1871, followed by other SPCAs in Tasmania in 1872, New South Wales in 1873, South Australia in 1875, Queensland in 1883, and Western Australia in 1892, with the other territories following much later.[2]
The SPCAs were given the Royal Warrant in 1956 and became known as the Royal Societies for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals, although they have no formal connection with the RSPCA UK. The national organisation, RSPCA Australia, was formed in 1981 to give a national voice on policy matters and advise the federal government on animal welfare issues.[3]
The first SPCA in Canada was the Canadian SPCA founded in Montreal in 1869. The other societies developed on a regional basis and now 123 societies are represented at a federal level by the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies.[4]
