European history
Blood sports in general can be traced back to the Roman Empire. In 13 B.C., for instance, the ancient Roman circus slew 600 African beasts. Likewise, under Emperor Claudius's reign, as spectators cheered, 300 bears and 300 Libyan beasts were slain in the Colosseum. Dog fighting, more specifically, can also be traced to ancient Roman times. In 43 AD, for example, dogs fought alongside the Romans and the British in the Roman Conquest of Britain. In this war, the Romans used a breed that originated from Greece called Molossus; the Britons used broad-mouth Mastiffs, which were thought to descend from the Molossus bloodline and which also originated from Greece. Though the British were outnumbered and ultimately lost this war, the Romans were so impressed with the English Mastiffs that they began to import these dogs for use in the Colosseum, as well as for use in times of war. While spectators watched, the imported English Mastiffs were pitted against animals such as wild elephants, lions, bears, bulls, and gladiators.
Later, the Romans bred and exported fighting dogs to Spain, France and other parts of Europe until eventually these dogs made their way back to England. Though bull baiting and bear baiting were popular throughout the Middle Ages up to the 19th century in Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands, the British pitted dogs against bulls and bears on a scale like no other. In 12th century England during the feudal era, the landed aristocracy, who held direct military control in decentralized feudal systems and thus owned the animals necessary for waging war, introduced bull baiting and bear baiting to the rest of the British population. In later years, bull baiting and bear baiting became a popular source of entertainment for the British royalty. For instance, Queen Elizabeth I, who reigned from 1558-1603, was an avid follower of bull and bear baiting; she bred Mastiffs for baiting and would entertain foreign guests with a fight whenever they visited England. In addition to breeding Mastiffs and entertaining foreign guests with a fight, Queen Elizabeth, and later her successor, King James I, built a number of bear gardens in London. The garden buildings were round and roofless, and housed not only bears, but also bulls and other wild animals that could be used in a fight. Today, a person can visit the Bear Garden museum near the Shakespeare Global Complex in Bankside, Southwark.
With the popularity of bull and bear baiting, bears needed for such fights soon became scarce. With the scarcity of bear population, the price of bears rose and, because of this, bull baiting became more common in England over time. Bulls who survived the fights were slaughtered afterwards for their meat, as it was believed that the fight caused bull meat to become more tender. In fact, if a bull was offered for sale in the market without having been baited the previous day, butchers were liable to face substantial fines. Animal fights were temporarily suspended in England when Oliver Cromwell seized power, but were reinstated again after the Restoration. Dog fighting, bear baiting, and bull baiting were officially outlawed in England by the Humane Act of 1835. The official ban on all fights, however, actually served to promote dog fighting in England. Since a small amount of space was required for the pit where a dog fight took place, as compared to the ring needed for bull or bear baiting, authorities had a difficult time enforcing the ban on dog fighting.
List of European Countries -
Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, U.K, England, United Kingdom, Vatican City (Holy See).
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| A dogfight, c. 1785 |
Later, the Romans bred and exported fighting dogs to Spain, France and other parts of Europe until eventually these dogs made their way back to England. Though bull baiting and bear baiting were popular throughout the Middle Ages up to the 19th century in Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands, the British pitted dogs against bulls and bears on a scale like no other. In 12th century England during the feudal era, the landed aristocracy, who held direct military control in decentralized feudal systems and thus owned the animals necessary for waging war, introduced bull baiting and bear baiting to the rest of the British population. In later years, bull baiting and bear baiting became a popular source of entertainment for the British royalty. For instance, Queen Elizabeth I, who reigned from 1558-1603, was an avid follower of bull and bear baiting; she bred Mastiffs for baiting and would entertain foreign guests with a fight whenever they visited England. In addition to breeding Mastiffs and entertaining foreign guests with a fight, Queen Elizabeth, and later her successor, King James I, built a number of bear gardens in London. The garden buildings were round and roofless, and housed not only bears, but also bulls and other wild animals that could be used in a fight. Today, a person can visit the Bear Garden museum near the Shakespeare Global Complex in Bankside, Southwark.
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| English Mastiff |
List of European Countries -
Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, U.K, England, United Kingdom, Vatican City (Holy See).
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