Bearbaiting

bearbaiting, alternatively bullbaiting, the setting of dogs on a bear or a bull chained to a stake by the neck or leg. Popular from the 12th to the 19th century, when they were banned as inhumane, these spectacles were usually staged at theatre-like arenas known as bear gardens.

In England many large groups of bears were kept expressly for the purpose. Contemporary records reveal, for example, that 13 bears were provided for an entertainment attended by Queen Elizabeth I in 1575.

When a bull was baited, its nose was often blown full of pepper to further arouse it. Specially trained dogs were loosed singly, each attempting to seize the tethered animal’s nose. Often a hole in the ground was provided for the bull to protect its snout. A successful dog was said to have pinned the bull.

Variations on these activities included whipping a blinded bear and baiting a pony with an ape tied to its back. Dogfighting and cockfighting were often provided as companion diversions.

A sport called bull running also developed in some places, usually as an annual affair. The townspeople, armed with clubs, chased a bull until all were exhausted; the bull was then killed.

Bearbaiting and bullbaiting and the variations on these “sports” began to decline in popularity, although very slowly, from the late 17th century onward. They were banned in England by the Puritans during the Civil Wars and Commonwealth (1642–60) and were permanently outlawed by act of Parliament in 1835, by which time they had also been outlawed in most countries in northern Europe.