The Criminal Prosecution and Capital Punishment of Animals

An unexpected chapter of legal history unfolds as the book examines a time when animals—pigs, cows, even swarms of insects—were not merely pests but defendants before human courts. Drawing on court records, ecclesiastical decrees, and contemporary commentary, the author reveals how societies once formalized punishment for creatures that harmed people or crops.

The narrative distinguishes between secular prosecutions, which treated domestic beasts as criminal actors deserving capital punishment, and church‑led proceedings that relied on excommunication and ritual curses to curb vermin. Detailed case studies, from a sow’s execution to the papal exorcisms of locust plagues, illustrate the complex blend of law, superstition, and economic anxiety that underpinned these trials. The scholarship is grounded in extensive primary sources, offering a meticulous look at how concepts of justice were extended beyond humanity.

Listening to this work feels like stepping into a courtroom of the past, where the boundaries of law and morality are both familiar and oddly foreign. It invites reflection on today’s legal definitions of responsibility and the lingering traces of these ancient practices in modern attitudes toward animals.