Punch,  49 (1865), 227.

Moral Amusement at Manchester

Excelsior

Genre:

Letter, Spoof

Subjects:

Animal Development, Animal Behaviour, Instinct, Crime


    Begins by insisting that the best that a 'benevolent mind' can do for the 'lower animals' is to allow them to cultivate 'their peculiar propensities'. Proceeds to protest against the actions of an officer of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals who, with the help of several policemen, stopped a 'triumphant' dog-fight in Manchester. Notes that these dogs subsequently spent a night in a police cell and insists that the society stopped the dogs from delighting in their natural propensity to bark and bite. Argues that the motives of the society are misplaced, pointing out that dogs fight 'of their own accord'. Adds that depriving dogs of this activity also stops spectators from relishing animals enjoying themselves.



© Science in the Nineteenth-Century Periodical Project, Universities of Leeds and Sheffield, 2005 - 2020

Printed from Science in the Nineteenth-Century Periodical: An Electronic Index, v. 4.0, The Digital Humanities Institute <http://www.sciper.org> [accessed ]