A couple of years ago, I called to your attention the fact that at the beginning of World War II, hundreds of thousands of household pets were euthanized in Britain (see in MM, "Brits and Their Pets", or, The Great Cat and Dog Massacre: The Real Story of World War Two's Unknown Tragedy, by Hilda Kean.) The reasons for such pet destruction varied, but you can be assured it was done more out of concern rather than cruelty. No one wants to see their pet cat bombed or their dog wandering about in the rubble of London, to be killed by the invading Huns.
Perhaps it was because I was aware of this episode, that I noticed an article about an earlier mass culling in Britain. Thousands of dogs and cats were ordered "to be immediately killed" by the Common Council of the City of London during the Great Plague of 1665 (there was no such order during the WW II episode. It was done voluntarily and often opposed by officials.) For more details see this article, where other historical culls are also mentioned: "The War on Dogs: The Dog Cull of 1760 Divided London: Were Dogs Man's Best Friend, Or Plague-RIdden Pests?" Stephanie Howard-Smith, History Today, June 6, 2023.
The article also points out something of which I was not aware, that during our own plague, "the UK government considered "that we might have to ask the public to exterminate all the cats in Britain." Apparently I just missed this news during covid, since it was easy to substantiate: "The U.K. Briefly Considered Killing All Pet Cats Early in the Pandemic," Armani Syed, Time, March 2, 2023.
I do recall that there were cullings of animals that were not pets. Millions of minks in Denmark and thousands of hamsters in Hong Kong were disposed of out of fear that a virus mutation might spread to humans.
My knowledge of zoonotic diseases is close to nil, but I am aware that diseases can be spread between species (in both directions) and that such episodes are being studied.
Culling is also worth our consideration. Current instances of it are easy to find. Buffalo are being culled in Yellowstone, deer in Tasmania and millions of chickens in France because of fear of avian influenza or for industrial farming reasons. There are too many deer in a graveyard near my house and there are far too many non-migratory geese leaving evidence of their existence throughout London. Culling is an option and the proceeds could benefit the homeless. (This recent headline is from Cleveland: "A Dozen Cuyahoga County Cities Now Use Sharpshooters to Reduce Their Deer Numbers.")
The culling of deer in London, even if recommended and done by the Indigenous, would be difficult to implement politically. Generally attitudes toward animals are more humane, one would think, and some argue they even have rights. Peter Singer has just updated his book on "Animal Liberation" and the culling of things, even during a plague, may no longer be an easy remedy, especially if your pet is involved.
Canadian Content:
A culling of stray dogs in St. John's in 1815 is reported. See, "The Newfoundland Dog."
