Odger's English Common Law

CRUELTY TO ANIMALS. 237
are contained in sections 5 and 6 and in the first Schedule to
the Act.
Section 7 requires any one who impounds an animal to
" supply it with a sufficient quantity of wholesome and suitable
food and water."
Section 9 prohibits the use of dogs as draught animals, and
imposes a maximum penalty of 40s. for the first offence and
of £5 for any subsequent offence.
If a policeman finds an animal which is so diseased or so
severely injured that it would be cruel to keep it alive, it is
his duty under section 11 of this Act to take steps to have it
put to death in such manner as to inflict as little suffering
as practicable.
Sea birds and their eggs are protected by the Wild Birds
Protection Acts, 1880 to 1908. 1
Grave doubts existed as to the morality of permitting
dissection of living animals ; but it was urged that such
operations were necessary for the advancement of science and
that much benefit to the human race had accrued from such
researches when properly conducted by medical men of skill
and learning. Hence the Legislature, while forbidding
vivisection in general, 2 permits it only under the following
conditions :
—
(i.) The person performing the experiments must hold a
licence from the Home Office, and in some cases the place
used for the experiments must be registered.
(ii.) The experiments must be performed with the object
of advancing knowledge, which will be useful for saving or
prolonging life, or for alleviating suffering, and not for the
purpose of attaining manual skill, nor as illustrations to
accompany lectures, unless it is certified that the illustrations
are absolutely necessary for due instruction.
(iii.) The animal must, during the whole of the experiment,
be under the influence of some anaesthetic, sufficiently strong
1 See the 4S & 44 Vict c. 35 ; 44 & 45 Vict. c. 31 ; 57 & 58 Vict. c. 24 ; 59 & 60 Vict,
c. 56 ; 2 Edw. VII. c. 6 ; 4 Edw. VII. c. 4 and 10 ; 8 Edw. VII. c. 11. See Mollis v.
Young, [1909] 1 K. B. 629.
1 Cruelty to Animals Act, 1876 (39 & 40 Vict. c. 77), as. 1, 22.