What came first – the baby or the cat?
I found something astounding out today whilst reading Watching The English by Kate Fox. Now, we are a nation of animal lovers, this is true, yet surprisingly we English established the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) in 1824, sixty years before the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) was founded in 1884!
It turns out that most of the famous societies were founded on the back of laws. This further amazes me, as not only was there a society protecting animals before children but there was also a law against the maltreatment of animals before a specific law against the maltreatment of children.
Now, I’m all for the prevention of cruelty to both kids and animals. I just found it a little bit odd that the laws of the land ended up being made in that order!
