Hello, my friends, from Expo (or for you non-industry folks, “The Humane World For Animals Animal Care Expo” which is the largest industry conference in the United States. (I maintain that the Best Friends National Conference is the most fun, though.)

This year, Expo is in Pittsburgh, and I have to say that I have been absolutely delighted to spend time in this beautiful city, where so much history is found on every corner. Expo is, of course, one of the most anticipated and popular events for animal welfare professionals. The chance to network, see friends, share experiences and hear new ideas is always something I am grateful to be present for.

The earliest regular animal welfare conferences were held by the International Humane Association, (Later the American Humane Association and now the American Humane Society) founded in 1877 to prevent cruelty to livestock being shipped from the ranches in the west to the slaughter yards in the northeast.

On September 15, 1877, 26 organizations from Illinois, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Michigan, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Maryland gathered in Cleveland to discuss this problem, effectively founding the organization and establishing a baseline for an annual meeting of organizations dedicated to protecting animals.

Interestingly, in the 1950s that group did splinter apart, and Humane Society of the United States, now Humane World For Animals, was formed and continued the conference tradition. So, in a sense, the expo that I am at today has direct roots leading back to that exact day. And while you can find the notes for that first meeting, it’s not all that relevant or exciting to our animal services folks today.

Instead, I’m bringing you some highlights from the report of the proceedings of the 41st annual meeting of the AHA, which included much more content around companion animals and animal shelters. The convention was held in Providence, Rhode Island, October 15-18 of 1917.

As reflected the work of the humane societies during this time, The first half of the convention related to cruelty to animals, while the second half was dedicated to cruelty to children.

Of course, any good conference starts with a good keynote. This conference was opened with a presidential address from William O. Stillman, the President of the IHA. While the entirety of the speech itself is too long to publish here, I’ll add the first paragraph below. The address covers the expansion of anti-cruelty societies across the United States, work for the protection of children, the work of the American Red Star and the possibility of a new Humane Officer training school.

Some of the sessions began with the reading of a published paper by it’s author, followed by a discussion and then some resolutions. Others were simply addresses. Let’s take a look at a few of the summaries provided in the report of the proceedings.

Here’s a familiar topic: “Suggestions for Financing an Anti-Cruelty Society.”

Given the time period, the work of the American Red Star, a division of AHA intended to protect animals, and particularly horses, used in war, was most important. There were several sessions discussing Red Star work.

Here’s a session about marketing:

And in relationship to children, this one stood out to me:

There were also a few events during the week, such as a public screening of humane films and a dinner.

Closing remarks were quite brief. The conference was adjourned by Mr. Stillman in an extremely anti-climactic way by simply thanking delegates for their attendance and participation.

Resolutions made at the convention followed. Here are a few of the more interesting ones.

I couldn’t help but notice this resolution, which specifically talks about rural communities, a topic that has been deeply explored at this week’s Expo as well.

The report of the proceedings is interesting to see in it’s entirety. You can see the document here if you are interested in taking a deeper look.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this brief look at an early animal welfare conference. If you are at Expo, let me know. I’d love to say hi, and I have Barking at the Knot stickers. 🙂

-Audrey