American Anti-Vivisection Society
| Formation | 1883 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters |
801 Old York Road, Suite 204 |
|
President
|
Sue A. Leary |
| Website | www |
801 Old York Road, Suite 204
The American Anti-Vivisection Society (AAVS) is an organization created with the goal of eliminating a number of different procedures done by medical and cosmetic groups in relation to animal cruelty in the United States. It seeks to help the betterment of animal life and human-animal interaction through legislation reform.
The American Anti-Vivisection Society was founded by Caroline Earle White in 1883 in Philadelphia. The group was inspired by Britain's recently passed Cruelty to Animals Act 1876. The Society began with the goal of regulating the use of animals in science and society. After a few years, the intention switched from regulation to the complete abolition of vivisection in scientific testing. The first two members – Caroline Earle White and Mary Frances Lowell – worked with their husbands in the Pennsylvania Society to Prevent Cruelty to Animals (PSPCA), yet felt that their capabilities extended beyond what the PSPCA had to offer and, in 1869, founded the Women’s Branch of the PSPCA (today known as the Women’s Humane Society).
The first American animal testing facilities were opened in the 1860s and 1870s, much to the dismay of animal rights pioneers. Caroline White traveled to London to meet with Frances Power Cobbe, the woman who led the Victoria Street Society and had the Cruelty of Animals Act passed. Caroline White returned in 1883, full of ideas after speaking with Cobbe, and transformed the WBPSPCA into the American Anti-Vivisection Society. After two years the group was trying to have legislation passed, proposing the Bill to Restrict Vivisection, which was defeated. After gaining a bit of exposure, many in the medical field began siding with the AAVS. Since then, the group has consistently worked on educating the public on issues regarding animal cruelty as well as worked with the U.S. Federal government in passing legislations for animal rights.
The biggest concern of the American Anti-Vivisection Society is the implementation of vivisection in medical testing. Vivisection is any experiment conducted on a subject that is still living at the time of the procedure and, omitting technicalities and procedure failures, still alive afterwards. However, with any experimentation there comes trial and error. Also, the benefit of an experiment is unknown. Since, by and large, the anti-vivisection movement is a moral struggle it is hard to define in concrete terms. Scientists argue that their testing could possibly better all of mankind and often claim that it is more important to risk the lives of animals if it means the betterment of the human race. Anti-vivisectionists argue that most vivisections are unnecessary and true work should be done with cell and tissue samples, seeing as vivisection is an outdated form of experimentation to begin with.George Bernard Shaw states that, “as a vivisection is experimental, it is not always or even often certain that the result of an operation will save any suffering at all.”
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