Animals were tried as people from the 14th century to the 18th century Europe, the earliest recording of an animal tried being recorded in 1266 (it was a pig). So, these animals were actually appointed lawyers in ecclesiastical court. (ecclesiastical court is basically christian court or religious court). They weren’t given lawyers in secular court, but apparently in this timeline humans weren’t either. Usually if convicted the animals would face a death penalty or be exiled (cue the Lion Ling).
So because i thought this was so bizarre and frankly unbelievable I just wanted to give you animal court stories.
Switzerland: In 1474 a rooster was put on trial for laying an egg, more specifically “the heinous and unnatural crime of laying an egg”. And not surprisingly he was put on trial for witchcraft, and thus burned alive at a judicial hearing. People came to witness this death, because it was taken as seriously as a human execution.
France: In 1510 group of rates were notified to come to court because they destroyed a field of barley, when the rats were a no-show, their lawyer Bartholomew Chassene said there was no way they could come because they would be putting their lives at risk, you know, due to the neighborhood cats and all. This defense resulted in the judge permanently postponing the trial
In 1519 moles were brought to court for destroying crops, which resulted in them being exiled. The defense attorney spoke up, thus making the judge say about the moles “with young and to such as are yet in their infancy” they were given 14 days to back up and head out of town.
In 1750 a man named Jaques Ferron was caught in the act of, ahem, well engaging in sexual activity with a female donkey and apparently there were enough witnesses that came forward on the donkey’s defense, that they spared her and ordered Ferron be hanged. In a document that had been recorded in in the The Criminal Prosicution and and Capital Punishment of Animals many of the witnesses, the parish priest among them stated that “They were willing to bear witness that she (the donkey) is in word and deed and in all her habits of life a most honest creature.”
USA: In September of 1916 an elephant named Mighty Mary was being led in a parade by a man who was brand new to the circus job of elephant handler and prodded her with a spear when she tried to eat a watermelon rind that was on the ground, Mary reacted by throwing him off with her trunk and stomping on the handlers head, thus killing him. This prompted the crowd to chant “kill the elephant!” and when bullets bounced off of her thick hide, she was hanged with a crane.
Macedonia: In 2008, a bear was put on trial for attacking a beekeepers hives, because he didn’t show he was convicted of his absence and because he had no owner, the state was ordered to pay £1,750 in damages that’s 2,288 in USD.
Some of the things I didn’t list in this were, weevils being exiled for destroying church property, a cow being sentenced to death for accidentally killing a woman by pushing her over, a monkey being hanged for acting as a french spy, and a pig sentenced to hang for killing baby. And these are just a few of the things that have happened. There’s a whole entire book published on this.
And I think if you think any of this is ridiculous, you should take a look at our animal justice system now.
We’re still doing it, they're just not getting lawyers .