Feline Persecution

In ancient Rome the cat was a symbol of liberty. In ancient Egypt it was held sacred, and the 1st century Greek historian, Diodorus Siculus tells us that whoever killed a cat was put to death, even if it was by accident. Later-on things changed for the worse, and thousands of cats were tortured and killed over the coming centuries. 

The linking of cats with witchcraft and black magic was to blame for most of this. The earliest records state that in the year 962 hundreds of unfortunate cats were burned alive in the city of Metz, in France. The poor animals were thought to be "witches in disguise". There was one period following the Crusades, when felines became popular once more. This only came about because of the many black rats on the run from the ships of the Crusaders, who were returning to their European homelands.

In the 13th century Catholicism dictated the terrible atrocities committed against innocent human beings and cats alike. This reign of terror for so-called "witches and their cats" continued until the 18th century. according to the records 100,000 witches were legally executed in Germany, 75,000 in France and 30,000 in Britain in the 16th and 17th centuries. Their cats, if caught, were always destroyed with them.

[Canned Hunting]

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