ASPCA

Henry Bergh founds the ASPCA in NYC, securing a charter from the New York State Legislature and prompting the passage of stronger anti-cruelty laws.

Founded in New York City in 1866 as the nation’s first animal welfare organization, The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) has spent more than150 years on the front lines of the fight against animal cruelty – saving, transforming and protecting millions of lives and continuously revolutionizing how our rapidly changing society cares for animals.

In response to World War I, the ASPCA lectures at military forts and camps on the care of horses in warfare and provides custom-made horse ambulances and emergency supplies to the Allied veterinary corps in France, including a rescue sling and derrick invented by Bergh in 1875.

including a rescue sling and derrick invented by Bergh in 1875.

In recognition of the ASPCA’s centenary, the Post Office Department (now the U.S. Postal Service) issues a commemorative stamp promoting the humane treatment of all animals.

The ASPCA responds to 9/11, rescuing animals and providing therapy teams for relief workers.

The ASPCA aids Hurricane Katrina animal-rescue efforts, granting $13M to affected shelters, and later helps pass disaster-related pet laws that save lives and elevate the issue of animal safety to its rightful place among natural disaster priorities.

The first CVC opens in Miami in 2019

followed in 2021 by CVCs in the Bronx and Brooklyn

By 2024, NTSI provides $9M in grants to 250 animal welfare organizations.

In 2024, the ASPCA Community Veterinary Clinic by The Rachael Ray Foundation™ opens in Queens.

By 2024, NTSI provides $9 million in grants to 250 animal welfare organizations

The ASPCA celebrates 150 years as the country’s leading voice for animals. Our months-long celebration includes a national campaign inspiring public acts of compassion to save and protect animals from cruelty, as well as the distribution of $150,000 in grant funding to local shelters

The ASPCA builds the first-ever permanent Behavioral Rehabilitation Center in Weaverville, North Carolina, and simultaneously launches a Learning Lab to advance shelter behavior programs nationwide through staff education, consulting and professional training

The ASPCA provides $7.5M in COVID-19 relief for pet owners and animal welfare groups, ultimately assisting more than 320,000 dogs, cats and horses

In 2024, the ASPCA Community Veterinary Clinic by The Rachael Ray Foundation™ opens in Queens

The ASPCA Recovery & Rehabilitation Center in Pawling, New York, opens. The 33,000-square-foot facility provides sheltering, behavioral support and medical care to rehabilitate and rehome victims of cruelty and neglect for dogs rescued through the ASPCA’s partnership with the New York City Police Department (NYPD).

Shoppers now have a single resource to determine their best choices when it comes to humanely produced food, driving change for animals in the food system. ASPCA ShopKind ™ is a free digital tool connects shoppers with local and online sources of meat, eggs and dairy products from more humane, certified farms raising animals with space, fresh air and sun on their backs, not factory farms confining animals in cages and squalor.