A Few Notes on Cruelty to Animals; on the Inadequacy of Penal Law; on General Hospitals for Animals; &c. &c. &c. is an 1846 treatise by the English surgeon Ralph Fletcher. Published in London by Longman and Co., it examines the treatment of animals in Victorian Britain and argues that existing cruelty laws were insufficient to prevent abuse. Drawing on his medical background and observations, Fletcher discusses the suffering of working and domestic animals, and called for stronger penalties against animal abuse, public oversight of slaughterhouses, humane education, and the need for hospitals for animals.
He lived on Barton Street, near the city's animal pound, and his observations of the animals kept there were reported to have inspired A Few Notes on Cruelty to Animals.[1]
Summary
In a brief "Preliminary Note," Fletcher reflects on the suffering of animals, especially those dependent on humans. He rejects the belief that animals are insensible to pain or that their suffering is divinely ordained, and instead urges compassion grounded in moral and theological argument.
"Importance of the Subject" draws on his experience as president of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Gloucester. Fletcher writes that public incidents of cruelty represent only a small part of a wider problem, noting that abuse often occurs in private spaces such as stables, slaughterhouses, and homes. He considers contemporary legislation inadequate, arguing that small fines and judicial discretion to reduce sentences fail to deter offenders.
The main portion of the book consists of "notes" on individual animals and practices. Fletcher describes donkeys as especially abused through overwork and neglect. He condemns blood sports such as shooting tied cocks and baiting badgers, regarding them as deliberate forms of cruelty. His accounts of cats and dogs emphasise contrasting treatment: cats, he observes, are frequently tormented or destroyed for amusement, while dogs, though more respected, suffer from starvation, beatings, and exhaustion from cart-work and fighting.
Further sections concern livestock. Fletcher denounces methods used in rearing and slaughtering calves and lambs, including starvation and repeated bleeding to produce white veal, which he interprets as cruelty motivated by commerce. Horses receive the most attention. He records their overwork, neglect, and abandonment, calling for legal accountability for owners as well as drivers.
In conclusion, Fletcher recommends stricter penalties for cruelty, official supervision of slaughterhouses and stables, public education in humane treatment, and the establishment of hospitals for sick and injured animals.
Reception
A review in the London Medical Gazette commended the book's humane perspective and professional insight, remarking that it was clearly written by a hospital surgeon familiar with the realities of suffering. The reviewer supported Fletcher's criticism of animal experimentation, while calling his proposal for animal hospitals a "somewhat Utopian scheme" derived partly from Eastern precedent.[3]
The Athenaeum described Fletcher's argument that cruelty to animals corrupts human character as persuasive and agreed that such acts should be regarded as crimes against society. The review praised his sympathy for animals and his proposal for animal hospitals, though it criticised what it called an "excess of sentiment" toward lower creatures.[4]
The Veterinary Record noted the book's detailed descriptions of local cases and commended its intention to expose cruelty through documentation. The reviewer endorsed Fletcher's recommendations for legal and institutional reform, including the establishment of animal hospitals.[5]
In his 1989 reference work Keyguide to Information Sources in Animal Rights, Charles R. Magel described A Few Notes on Cruelty to Animals as an early and vivid account of animal abuse in the Gloucester area and noted its proposal for the establishment of animal hospitals modelled on human institutions.[7]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
