When asked why he spent so much of his time and money talking about kindness to animals when there is so much cruelty to men George T. Angell replied, "I am working at the roots." The great Mahatma Gandhi further observed, "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."

What kind of a nation are we? Somewhere between the worst and the best, I believe. There have always been compassionate people in our country who dedicate their lives to achieving kindness and justice for all - including the animals - but we have a long way to go before we can declare victory.

George T. Angell founded the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA) in 1868 and the organization is still going strong. Today, it provides humane care and shelter for over 250,000 animals a year, including 80,000 at its three state-of-the-art Veterinary Hospitals. I was recently given a copy of the July 1932 issue (price 10 cents!) of its monthly publication, Our Dumb Animals.

Though the style of writing was old fashioned, the articles conveyed the same passion for compassion espoused by modern day humane advocates. One particularly fascinating article described what happened when a "deputation of distinguished humanitarians," supported by over 1400 humane societies, took their cause to the April 1932 League of Nations Disarmament Conference in Geneva, Switzerland. They asked the League to promote humane education in the schools and use its influence to humanize animal transport and slaughter, ban steel-toothed traps, protect birds, and preserve wildlife… issues we are still working on today.

Wise people of any era understand clearly that humane treatment of animals is part and parcel of achieving a peaceful and humane world. In his response to the 1932 delegation, Arthur Henderson, President of the Geneva Conference, made the following pronouncement:

"I need not say how much I am in sympathy with all that you have put before us. I am not only anxious to prevent suffering so far as human life is concerned, I am not only anxious to raise the mind of mankind to a higher value and a higher appreciation of the sacredness of human life, I am also anxious to prevent cruelty wherever it can be prevented. And it seems to me that there is a connection between what we are trying to do in the Disarmament Conference and what you are trying to do, for, if we can succeed, and if you can succeed in your educational work, it may be that we can prevent the poor animals, who cannot speak for themselves, from being tortured without regard either for their use or for their value."

We still live in a world where animals and people are routinely devalued and tortured. Progress seems grindingly slow but like George Angell, humane advocates are a committed and tenacious lot - determined to make this world a humane place for animals and people alike.

May we all be "anxious" to prevent cruelty wherever and whenever we find it.

Note: The photo is from the MSPCA website (www.mspca.org).