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"The Great Meddler"

© Meg Greene Malvasi

It was an everyday scene on many streets in New York City during the spring of 1866. The driver of an overloaded coal cart, angry with his horse, began to whip him. It did not matter that the horse was weak and tired. His thin frame and underfed body already bore the marks of previous beatings. All the horse could do was try to shield himself from the assault. Suddenly this familiar spectacle took an unusual turn. As on-lookers watched in surprise, a tall, well-dressed man in a top hat approached the driver and began to lecture him. It is now against the law, the man told him, to beat an animal. If the driver didn't stop immediately he would be arrested. "The Great Meddler," as Henry Bergh came to be known, had stepped in to save an abused animal.

Henry Bergh (1813-1888) was the privileged son of a prominent shipbuilder. After finishing his education and traveling in Europe, he served in a diplomatic post to Russia during the reign of Czar Alexander II (1855-1881). The routine cruelty committed against animals in Russia angered Bergh. "Mankind is served by animals," he once remarked, "and in turn they receive no protection." Bergh resolved to give it to them and thereby to find a purpose for his life, "a way to be of use."

By the time he returned to the United States, Bergh was fully committed to keeping animals from harm. He began his crusade in New York City, actively speaking out in behalf of the "average dog on the street," to say nothing of cats, horses, and farm animals as well. Bergh believed that protecting the "mute servants of mankind" was a cause that touched people from all walks of life and all social classes. After every speech he made, Bergh asked for signatures on his "Declaration of the Rights of Animals," a document that outlined his proposals to safeguard animals from cruel and inhumane treatment.

On April 10, 1866, the New York State Legislature granted Bergh a charter to establish a society for the protection of animals. The new organization, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, or the ASPCA, wasted no time. Only nine days after its charter had been granted, the ASPCA gained the right to enforce the new anti-cruelty laws that the legislature had passed.

Bergh and his staff of three investigated the condition of animals throughout New York City. Newspaper reporters who chronicled the groups' activities labeled Bergh "The Great Meddler" because of his interference with animal owners to rescue animals from mistreatment. Overworked horses, dogs used in fights or to pull heavy carts, stray cats, and pigeons used as target practice now had someone to speak for them.

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