Diamond Paws
Staffordshire Bull Terrier
Bull Baiting History
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(Photo used with permission by Ian Beach at The Ancient Manor of Sedgley)
Human beings, it seems, have always had a strong disposition to manipulate animal life for 'sporting' purposes. Of the animal sports in eighteenth-century England, bull-baiting was the most prominent. It was common at many wakes, closely associated with fairs, the 5th of November celebration, and was one of the festivities at local elections. For some communities it may have been a fairly regular recreation. In the 18th century town of Chichester, it was said by one resident to have been "given to mean diversions such as bull-baiting, which was very frequent, and for which many bulldogs were kept in town to the great torture and misery of those poor animals". Butchers were sometimes required to have a bull-baited before killing it. If the butcher refused to have his bull participate in this sport he would have to pay a fine. Bull-baiting usually took place in a publican's yard, an accessible open field, or a market place. In some towns like Harewood, Darlington, and Hornsea, this sport was played so much that these towns had an iron ring permanently fixed in the ground to which the bull's rope could be fastened. The relative frequency of bull-baiting was largely due to the scarcity of bears, which was the animal of choice.
Bull-Baiting, which drew more controversial attention than any of the other blood sports, may have already been in decline by around 1800, at least in certain parts of the country. A sporting magazine expressed that the custom of bull-baiting has of late years been almost laid aside in the north of England which took place in 1793. In Lincoln it was said in 1789 to also be in a dwindling state. In Nottingham and at Hornsed in the East Riding bull-baiting seems to have died out by the beginning of the nineteenth century. The reasons for this apparent decline are not at all clear. There is little evidence of outright suppressions of bull-baiting during the eighteenth century. Perhaps the growing hostility of the genteel opinion discouraged its survival in areas where the authority of such views could not be easily ignored. The sport was particularly dependent on some form of outside assistance- patronage, sponsorship, or promotion- and it is likely that such assistance was increasingly difficult to obtain. Also by the late eighteenth century butchers were no longer providing bulls for baiting, as they had done in the past. Many publicans became reluctant to act as promoters because such involvement might put their licenses in jeopardy. This just declined the sport a little bit, but it is stated that it still was played 40 years into the nineteenth century. The persistence of bull-baiting(along with other blood sports) was a cause of considerable concern in a respectable society, especially among the increasingly influential Evangelicals, and this concern was frequently voiced during the first third of the century in the political arena. Bills against bull-baiting were introduced in 1800 and 1802 both were defeated by narrow margins. Finally, in 1835, a Cruelty to Animals Act unequivocally established the illegality of all blood sports which involved the baiting of animals.
How it was played
What Equipment was needed:
15
feet of cord
1 steel stake
1 iron ring
several metal poles
2-3 dogs
1 bull
A rope is tied to the root of the bull's horns and at the other end of the cord is an iron ring which is driven into the ground with a stake. The cord should be about 15 feet long so that the bull will be confined to a sphere of about 30 feet in diameter. Several butchers or other gentlemen, that want to exercise their dogs hold their dogs by their ears and when the sport begins they let them loose. The dog runs at the bull and the bull protects himself by lowering his horns. The dog usually does not back down when this occurs, and he runs around the bull and tries to get under the bull in order to seize his pendant glands. The bull then takes his horns and slides them under the belly of the dog and then throws him 15-30 feet into the air. The common people thought it was great fun to hear the dog howl as it was thrown into the air. Sometimes the owners have long poles which they offer as slant-ways in the intent that the dogs will slide down them, and it might break the force of his fall. If the dog is not hurt by the fall, he will attack the bull again. Even though the bull is bigger it does not always get the upper hand. Sometimes the dog gets a hold of the bull, and it is quite a site to observe the bull twirling around in pain in order to loosen the dogs hold on its flesh. In the end, either the dog is pulled off the bull by its owners or it tears a piece of flesh out of the bull.
Online Bull Baiting References:
BBC - Beyond the Broadcast - Making History
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