bullbaiting

Bull-baiting, as illustrated in 1821

Bull-baiting is a blood sport involving the baiting of bulls.

History

In the time of Queen Anne of Great Britain, it was performed in London at Hockley-in-the-Hole, twice a week, and was reasonably common in the provincial towns. At Stamford and at Tutbury, a bull was annually hunted through the streets.

The bull was usually placed in a specially constructed ring for the purpose, and tied to an iron stake so that it could move in an area of about 30 feet. The object of the sport was for the dogs to immobilise the bull.

Before the event started, the bull's nose might have been blown full of pepper to enrage the animal before the baiting. The bull was often placed in a hole in the ground. A variant of bull-baiting was "pinning the bull", where specially-trained dogs would be set upon the bull one at a time, a successful attack resulting in the dog fastening his teeth strongly in the bull's snout. The now-extinct Old English Bulldog was bred especially for this sport.

A Bill for the suppression of the practise was introduced into the British House of Commons in 1802, but was defeated by 13 votes, and it was not till the year 1835 that it was finally put down by Act of Parliament, called the Cruelty to Animals Act 1835, which forbade the keeping of any house, pit, or other place for baiting or fighting any bull, bear, dog, or other animal.

See also

• Bullfighting
• Baiting (animals)
• Beargarden
• List of dog fighting breeds

References

• Encyclopedia of Traditional British Rural Sports. Routledge (UK). 2005. ISBN 041535224X. http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN041535224X&id=jKjYyGF8hSwC&pg=RA2-PA52&lpg=RA2-PA52&dq=Bull-baiting&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html&sig=E_7RWyO_9RKXNQnHFZQNvqHluUc. 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bull-baiting

External links

• The Trial of 2 Centuries: Animal v. Animal Sport: Bull-Baiting
• Bull Baiting
• Bull baiting in the Eastern Essex area of the UK