Animals suspected of wrongdoing were entitled to lawyers and fair and speedy trials, not to mention human-like executions such as hanging if they were found guilty.
Wikimedia CommonsA sow and pigs on trial.
Rat infestations can be a pesky, all-too-common problem. But in medieval times, the solution wasn’t traps or poison. Instead, rats might receive a polite but firm letter, warning them to leave the house or field they were bothering. Amazingly, people believed this could work.
When animals harmed humans or caused damage, they weren’t just shooed away. They could face full trials, just like we have today, with judges, lawyers, and witnesses. These animal trials followed the same legal process as human cases.
Edward P. Evans, a historian on the subject and author of a document called The Criminal Punishment and Capital Prosecution of Animals in 1906, wrote that rats were often “sent a friendly letter of advice in order to induce them to quit any house, in which their presence is deemed undesirable.”
It sounds bizarre now, but in the Middle Ages, animals that broke the law were treated as if they had the same moral responsibility as people. If convicted, they could face punishments ranging from exile to execution.
Pigs, Rats, and Other Unlikely Criminals
One of the most famous animal trials took place in 1457 in Savigny, France. The Library of Congress records the account of a sow and her six piglets were accused of killing and partly eating a five-year-old boy.
The court assigned them a lawyer and held a proper trial. Ultimately, only the mother pig was found guilty. Since people saw her attack the child, she was sentenced to death by hanging. The piglets, although found covered in blood, were spared for lack of proof they took part in the crime.
This wasn’t a rare event. Pigs were the most common animals put on trial. In medieval villages, pigs roamed freely and could grow large and dangerous. Sometimes they attacked small children. A 1386 case in Falaise saw a pig dressed in a man’s clothes, maimed on its head and legs, and hanged for killing a child. The entire town gathered to watch, including other pigs brought to see the punishment to teach them a lesson in good behavior.
newnform.orgAn illustration of a pig’s execution.
But it wasn’t just pigs. Other animals faced trials too. In one famous case from 1510, a clever lawyer named Bartholomew Chassenée defended a group of rats accused of destroying crops. When the rats failed to appear in court, Chassenée argued they had stayed away out of fear of the local cats that roamed the streets. According to History, the court didn’t know how to respond to this, and eventually, the case was dropped.
Wild animals and pests, such as locusts, flies, and snails, were usually tried in church courts. Since they weren’t owned by people, they couldn’t be captured and executed. Instead, they were excommunicated or cursed, with church officials reading warnings to them in the fields where they lived.
In 1519, the Alpine town of Stelvio brought a case against moles (or possibly mice) for damaging crops. Their lawyer argued the rodents helped the soil and should not be punished harshly. The creatures were instead sentenced to banishment, with safe conduct granted to protect them from local predators.
In 1750, a French peasant named Jacques faced assault charges for violating a donkey. While he was sentenced to burn at the stake, the donkey he was accused of violating was spared. Several villagers testified to the donkey’s good character, convincing the judge that she had been an innocent victim.
Though most of these cases occurred in France, Switzerland, and Italy, animal trials were not unique to Europe. They took place as far as Brazil, New Zealand, and the Congo. In colonial America, a 1662 Connecticut man named William Potter was executed for bestiality, after first watching the cows, sheep, and pigs he assaulted be publicly killed.
Before sentencing, Governor William Leete read the law to Potter and asked if he had anything to say to avoid punishment. Potter’s reply was simply, “No.” He was then sentenced to be hanged on June 6, 1662.
Still, in one of the more bizarre cases, a rooster was put on trial in 1474 in Basel, Switzerland, for the crime of laying an egg. This behavior was viewed at the time as unnatural and associated with witchcraft. Prosecutors argued that such an egg could be used in sorcery, even more valuable to witches than the philosopher’s stone. Though the defense pointed out that the rooster hadn’t harmed anyone and had no evil intent, the court ruled against it and the unfortunate bird was burned at the stake.
The Spokesman ReviewA rooster in Basel, Switzerland, was condemned to burn at the stake in 1474 for the “unnatural crime” of laying an egg.
Why Did People Do This?
So, why on earth did anyone think it made sense to put animals on trial? Scholars point to several reasons. One is that medieval society believed strongly in a natural order set by God, with humans at the top. When that order was disturbed, such as a pig killing a child, society felt it was important to take formal action to restore balance. Some trials also satisfied the community’s need for justice and revenge after a shocking crime.
Public animal trials also served as a warning to others. Officials wanted to show that they took crimes seriously and that no lawbreaker, human or animal, would go unpunished. People often brought other pigs to witness the execution, hoping to prevent future attacks.
There may have been a financial motive too. Economist Peter Leeson argues that church-run trials of pests helped increase tithe payments. If people saw the church cursing vermin, they might take its power more seriously and be more willing to pay what they owed.
Slate writer James E. McWilliams argues that, in the Middle Ages, unlike now, people treated animals more as sentient beings than as objects. Continued human interaction with the animals they owned, which amounted to up to 16 hours per day into the 19th century, left owners with more sympathy for them.
The End of Animal Trials
Animal trials began to fade out with the rise of science and reason during the Enlightenment in the 1700s. Thinkers started to question how it made sense to punish animals that couldn’t even understand right from wrong. Around the same time, the idea of insanity as a legal defense took hold which was a significant change in the justice system.
But animal trials never completely disappeared. In 1906, a dog in Switzerland was tried and executed for helping in a robbery that led to murder. And in 2008, a bear in Macedonia was convicted of theft after stealing honey from a beekeeper. Since the bear was part of a protected species, the government ended up paying the damages.
Though we might laugh at the idea today, these trials tell us a lot about the past. They reveal how people made sense of tragic and unpredictable events happening in the world around them. And they remind us that even the strangest customs often had deep meaning to those who practiced them.
After learning about these bizarre animal trials, read up on the Salem Witch Trials and the Hans Werewolf Trials.
