Vivisection, Virtue, and the Law in the Nineteenth Century

Abstract

Nineteenth-century medical practitioners objected that Continental vivisection displays were cruel, unnecessary, and gave their profession a bad name. After the first law to protect animals was passed, anti-cruelty campaigners formed organisations such as the RSPCA to prosecute acts of brutality, which they thought tended to promote a culture of violence, but they allowed medics to self-regulate as their moral integrity was assumed to be irreproachable. Once the Vivisection Act came into force, however, the public became concerned about the readiness with which licenses were issued.