From Pests to Pets: Social and Cultural Perceptions of Animals in Post-medieval Urban Centres in England (AD1500 – 1900)

Abstract

In the past, animals and their products were prominent features of urban life. How people utilised these animals as well as their relationships has continually changed. For example, cats, dogs, pigs and other animals lived in close proximity to people in post-medieval urban centres and were viewed in terms of their functional affordances. Cats were kept to deter rodents and exploited for their fur, dogs were protectors of the home and pigs were not only food, but helped to reduce the amount of rubbish where they were kept. However, perceptions and treatment of urban animals were far from static. The emergent animal welfare movement and legislation heralded a change in the species and numbers of animals present in the urban environment and altered human-animal relationships. Now people are detached from ‘livestock’ (e.g. pigs), but have developed closer bonds with compan ion animals (e.g. cats, dogs, etc.). In this article I will draw upon zooarchaeological and historical evidence in an attempt to show the timing of this transition and highlight some key factors in the accompanying shift in human-animal relation ships, while focusing more specifically on pet-keeping in a city context.