This page is a timeline of the major events in the history of animal welfare and rights in the United States.
Big picture Period Descriptionsc.13000 BCE-1492Native Americans in the present-day United States use domesticated dogs and turkeys.1493-1800European settlers introduce a number of domesticated species to the Americas. Settlers adopt the first known animal welfare laws in North America.1800-1914The first American state anti-cruelty laws and animal protection organizations appear. Anti-vivisection organizations form but do not result in any major regulations on animal experimentation.1914-1966By World War I, the American anti-vivisection movement has come to a standstill. Intensive animal farming begins in the 1920s and accelerates with technological advances in the 1940s, allowing American meat consumption to grow from 9.8 billion pounds in 1909 to approximately 32 billion pounds in 1970. Scientific and cosmetic testing on animals also accelerates dramatically. Concern for animal welfare resurges in the 1950s, resulting in the federal Humane Slaughter Act and the Animal Welfare Act.1966-2016 Intensive animal agriculture continues to grow, with the number of land animals slaughtered for food in the U.S. growing from 2.4 billion in 1965 to 9.2 billion in 2015. Books, documentaries, and media coverage of controversies surrounding animal cruelty boost the animal rights and welfare movements, while destructive direct actions by groups like the Animal Liberation Front draw public rebuke and government crackdown. Research on in vitro animal products gains traction, resulting in the first in vitro meats. Public interest in animal welfare, animal rights, and plant-based diets increases significantly, though the number of Americans practicing vegetarian and vegan diets does not seem to increase significantly in the first decade of the 2000s. Several states ban the intensive confinement of sows, veal calves, and chickens.
Timeline