It is a long held belief that we are a nation of animal lovers. Really!?! Then why are there so many animal charities!

Two hundred years ago the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was founded in a London coffee shop. Queen Victoria became a patron and gave permission to add the word Royal in 1840 and so it became the R.S.P.C.A. They received hundreds of reports of cruelty every day and it’s not new.

There are hundreds of cases of animal cruelty to be found in East Devon throughout history. Scores of lame horses and unmilked cows were sent to the market for sale. Poultry was crammed into tiny crates for transportation by train and were found dead or exhausted on arrival.

In 1879, John Jonevich from Greece was charged with torturing a bear in Honiton High Street. He led the bear by an iron hook pierced through its nostril and lips. When the bear did not obey him and perform a dance, Jonevich hit it on the head with a large pole. The bear was blind and had ulcers on its face. Jonevich was ordered to provide a muzzle, remove the hooks, and pay a five shilling fine before leaving the town.

Four years later a Salvation Army Captain, James Fairless was charged with riding a twenty year old crippled pony at full gallop between Cullompton and Honiton and beating it with a large thorn stick all the way. The pony had wounds on its back and belonged to Harry Denner who was charged with allowing an unfit pony to be ridden. Fairless was also charged with cruelty to a donkey which was attached to a cart. Witnesses said that he lashed the donkey twenty two times with a whip.

A billiard maker was charged with deliberately setting his dogs on a cat which they caught and killed in the Angel Hotel yard. He was fined five shillings with costs. A Council Member fed his eighty one sheep small amounts of hay which was shown to be unfit for feeding purposes. His flock was in poor condition with the majority being emaciated. His excuse was that he was overstocked, and the weather had been bad.

A father and son were summoned to court for cruelty to a three month old sheep dog. Because the boy had been unable to sell the puppy at the market, his father told him to tie a stone (weighing 8lb) to its neck and drop it into the river at Littletown Bridge. A postman rescued the dog. The father was fined, and the son was dismissed.