In France in the mid-19th century, the activity of animal protection advocates was becoming more organized in a context where the relationship between humans and animals was undergoing deep change and where France was experiencing political and social upheavals. La Société Protectrice des Animaux (SPA, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) was founded in 1845. It aimed to moralize human behavior and to improve the living conditions of animals by using two strategies: education and repression. The Grammont Law, passed in 1850, played a critical role in the struggle for animal rights. It imposed penalties against those displaying cruelty to domesticated animals in public. To a large extent, the activities of animal rights activists are based on this law. The SPA believes this law deserves more attention and stronger enforcement, and it therefore acts as an educational and a lobbying institution.