Bands of Mercy were formal, locally led organizations in the 19th and 20th centuries that brought people—especially children and adolescents—together to learn about kindness to non-human animals. The Bands also worked to help animals and prevent cruelty in their area through

humane education Humane education is broadly defined as education that nurtures compassion and respect for living beingsUnti, B. & DeRosa, B. (2003). Humane education: Past, present, and future. In D. J. Salem & A. N. Rowam (Eds.), ''The State of the Animals II: ...

and

direct action Direct action is a term for economic and political behavior in which participants use agency—for example economic or physical power—to achieve their goals. The aim of direct action is to either obstruct a certain practice (such as a governm ...

Creation

Modelled after the

Band of Hope Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary * Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, ...

of the

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting Temperance (virtue), temperance or total abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and ...

, the first Bands of Mercy were created in 1875, by the philanthropist Catherine Smithies in Britain. The first Band of Mercy was formed at the house of

Hannah Bevan Hannah Marishall Bevan or Hannah Marishall Bennett (1 February 1798 – 7 November 1874) was a British philanthropist. She visited convict ships and workhouses and was involved in creating the Band of Hope in London. Life Bevan was born in Londo ...

. The movement had a periodical, ''Band of Mercy Advocate'' (1879–1934), which was originally edited by Smithies' son

Thomas Bywater Smithies Thomas Bywater Smithies (27 August 1817 – 20 July 1883) was an English businessperson, radical publisher, editor, and campaigner for Temperance movement, temperance and animal welfare. He was the founder and editor of the broadsheet periodical ...

. In 1882, the

Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity operating in England and Wales which promotes animal welfare. The RSPCA is funded primarily by voluntary donations. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest and largest a ...

(RSPCA) assumed responsibility for organizing and promoting the Band of Mercy and its publications.

Movement to Australia

Vol 1 Issue 1 Band of Mercy Advocate NSW The Band of Mercy movement spread to Australia, Canada and the US. The Australian first Band of Mercy was founded in 4 January 1884 by Emma and her sister

Frances Deborah Levvy Frances Deborah Levvy (November 14, 1831 – November 29, 1924) was an Australian animal protection advocate who was involved with establishing the RSPCA and Bands of Mercy in Australia. Life Levvy was born in 1831 in Penrith. Her parents were ...

. Frances' efforts resulted in her reporting that were 446 similar groups by 1889. The public schools in New South Wales supported her efforts to expand even more and she was paid to create new Bands of Mercy in Schools by the Department of Public Instruction. In return for the fifty pounds she was paid she visited dozens of schools and handled a voluminous correspondence. Levvy's relationship with the British RSPCA became difficult, but she persevered. She published the ''Band of Mercy and Humane Journal of New South Wales'' from July 1887 to 1923.

Movement to North America

Following the British model,

George T. Angell George Thorndike Angell (June 5, 1823March 16, 1909) was an American lawyer, philanthropist, and activist. He advocated for animal welfare, founding and serving as president of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. ...

, founder and first president of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (

MSPCA The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals-Angell Animal Medical Center (MSPCA-Angell) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with its main headquarters on South Huntington Avenue in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Bo ...

), and the Rev. Thomas Timmins began the formation of Bands of Mercy in the United States in 1882. Many locally run Bands of Mercy were created across North America in the subsequent decades. By the early part of the 20th century, more than 260,000 children—about 3% of the children aged 5–9 years old in 1900—were active members in over 27,000 local Bands of Mercy across North America.

Activities

Angell said that the goals of the Bands of Mercy were to "teach and lead every child and older person to seize every opportunity to say a kind word or do a kind act that will make some other human being or some dumb .e., that cannot speakcreature happier." A band of mercy by Sarah J

Bands of Mercy were locally organized and run, even though they often used materials that were created and distributed nationally by the MSPCA and later the ASPCA. Consequently, there were many local variations to the activities of the Bands. In general, though, Bands of Mercy would hold regular meetings that began with the members pledging: "I will try to be kind to all living creatures, and try to protect them from cruel usage." Adults would often then conduct lessons to promote kindness towards and concern for all animals. These lessons often involved reading stories and singing songs and hymns. At least two song collections made these available for Band meetings: ''Songs of Happy Life for Schools, Homes, and Bands of Mercy'' (Providence RI and London, 1897) by American

Sarah J. Eddy Sarah James Eddy (May 3, 1851 – March 29, 1945) was an American artist and photographer who specialized in the platinotype process, also known as platinum prints. She was active in abolitionism, abolition, reform, and suffrage, suffragist movem ...

and ''Hymns for Children with Opening and Closing Services and Songs and Hymns for Bands of Mercy and of Hope'' (London, 1894), edited by Charlotte Farrington. ''The Band of Mercy Advocate'', established by Thomas Bywater Smithies in England in 1879, printed songs in every issue. Clapp-Itnyre writes that singing filled a crucial void: "to bring language--and aesthetically pleasing language at that--to a population of animals unable to speak in their own defense." The ''Advocate'' was later retitled as merely ''Band of Mercy'' - the British Library catalogue listing ''The Band of Mercy Advocate'' from 1879 to 1882 and ''Band of Mercy'' from 1883 to 1934. In 1935 the Band was renamed the RSPCA Junior Division and the magazine retitled ''Animal Ways'', lasting well into the second half of the century. Membership was not limited to children and adolescents; adults would hold officer positions and would use the Bands as a forum to discuss animal cruelty issues and how to handle them. An article dated 18 July 1899 in the ''San Francisco Call'' about their local Band of Mercy, for example, mentions members reporting on the number of animal cruelty cases that had been reported in the last year (2,379) along with the resulting numbers of prosecutions (195) and convictions (129).

Post-War Decreases

Prior to the world wars, humane education—and the Bands of Mercy where children learned about it—was seen by many as a possible way to create a kinder and more peaceful world. The world wars dispelled much of this belief and thus the interest in Bands of Mercy. The

red scare A Red Scare is a form of moral panic provoked by fear of the rise of left-wing ideologies in a society, especially communism and socialism. Historically, red scares have led to mass political persecution, scapegoating, and the ousting of thos ...

and the

space race The Space Race (, ) was a 20th-century competition between the Cold War rivals, the United States and the Soviet Union, to achieve superior spaceflight capability. It had its origins in the ballistic missile-based nuclear arms race between t ...

also focused much of U.S. education towards math and science, further reducing the immediate post-war interest in Bands of Mercy. In addition, the creation and maintenance of the Bands of Mercy was primarily driven by

animal welfare Animal welfare is the quality of life and overall well-being of animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures ...

organizations; as their attention and goals shifted away from early prevention to active intervention in abuse, much of the energy behind the Bands of Mercy dissipated.Unti, B. & DeRosa, B. (2003). Humane education: Past, present, and future. In D. J. Salem & A. N. Rowam (Eds.), ''The State of the Animals II: 2003'' (pp. 27 – 50). Washington, D.C.: Humane Society Press

Creation

Movement to Australia

Movement to North America

Activities

Post-War Decreases

See also

References

Further reading