Cat-burning
Cat-burning was a form of zoosadistic entertainment in Western and Central Europe during the Middle Ages prior to the 1800s. In this form of entertainment, people would gather dozens of cats in a net and hoist them high into the air from a special bundle onto a bonfire causing death by burning or otherwise through the effects of exposure to extreme heat. In the medieval and early modern periods, cats, which were associated with vanity and witchcraft, were sometimes burned as symbols of the devil. Along with this, other forms of torture and killing of animals were used. Descriptions According to Norman Davies, the assembled people "shrieked with laughter as the animals, howling with pain, were singed, roasted, and finally carbonized". James Frazer wrote: Cat-burning was also described in ''The Great Cat Massacre'', a scholarly work by American historian Robert Darnton: Cats also figured in the cycle of Saint John the Baptist, which took place on June 24, at the time of su ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kattenstoet
The ''Kattenstoet'' (lit. "Festival of the Cats") is a parade in Ypres, Belgium, devoted to the cat. It has been held regularly on the second Sunday of May since 1955. Most recently, the 45th edition took place on 13 May 2018, with the next scheduled for 12 May 2024. The parade commemorates an Ypres tradition from the Middle Ages in which cats were thrown from the belfry tower of the Cloth Hall to the town square below. Background There are various legends about how the throwing of cats originated. One possibility is that cats were connected to witchcraft, and the throwing of the cats symbolised the killing of evil spirits. The last recorded event of this kind was in 1817. Another story suggests that the cats were brought into the Cloth Hall (''Lakenhallen'') to control vermin. Before modern heating and storage methods, when it got cold the wool was stored in the upper floors of the Cloth Hall. At the start of the spring warm-up, after the wool had been sold, the cats were to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cruelty To Animals
Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse, animal neglect or animal cruelty, is the infliction by omission (neglect) or by commission by humans of suffering or harm upon non-human animals. More narrowly, it can be the causing of harm or suffering for specific achievements, such as killing animals for entertainment; cruelty to animals sometimes encompasses inflicting harm or suffering as an end in itself, referred to as zoosadism. Divergent approaches to laws concerning animal cruelty occur in different jurisdictions throughout the world. For example, some laws govern methods of killing animals for food, clothing, or other products, and other laws concern the keeping of animals for entertainment, education, research, or pets. There are several conceptual approaches to the issue of cruelty to animals. Even though some practices, like animal fighting, are widely acknowledged as cruel, not all people and nations have the same definition of what constitutes animal cruelty. Many ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Zoosadism
Zoosadism is pleasure derived from cruelty to animals. It is part of the Macdonald triad, a set of three behaviors that are considered a precursor to psychopathic behavior. Research Some studies have suggested that individuals who are cruel to animals are more likely to be violent to humans. According to ''The New York Times'': Helen Gavin wrote however in ''Criminological and Forensic Psychology'' (2013): Alan R. Felthous reported in his paper "Aggression Against Cats, Dogs, and People" (1980): This is a commonly reported finding, and for this reason, cruelty to animals is often considered a warning sign of potential violence towards humans. Examples An adult man in Cuba, by the name of Rubén Marrero Pernas was found to be raping, torturing then killing dogs or puppies and recording the acts online for an audience who found this to be likewise sexually gratifying. Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer was known for torturing and killing animals in his youth, such as pois ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hautes-Alpes
Hautes-Alpes (; oc, Auts Aups; en, Upper Alps) is a department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. It is located in the heart of the French Alps, after which it is named. Hautes-Alpes had a population of 141,220 as of 2019,Populations légales 2019: 05 Hautes-Alpes INSEE which makes it the third least populated French department. Its prefecture is Gap; its sole is [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Animal Killing
The killing of animals is animal euthanasia (for pain relief), animal sacrifice (for a deity), animal slaughter (for food), hunting (for food, for sport, for fur and other animal products, etc.), blood sports, roadkill (by accident) or self-defense. Animal euthanasia Animal euthanasia (''euthanasia'' from Greek: εὐθανασία; "good death") is the act of putting an animal to death or allowing it to die by withholding extreme medical measures. This is often done for domesticated livestock and house pets. Animal sacrifice Hinduism In Assam and West Bengal states of India and Nepal some Hindu temples sacrifice goats and chickens. Occasionally water buffalos are also sacrificed. Temples following Shakti school of Hinduism are the ones where sacrifice usually takes place. There are many village temples in Tamil Nadu where this kind of sacrifice takes place. Many animals are sacrificed during the three-day-long Gadhimai festival in Nepal. In 2009 it was speculated tha ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Animal Welfare
Animal welfare is the well-being of non-human animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures such as longevity, disease, immunosuppression, behavior, physiology, and reproduction, although there is debate about which of these best indicate animal welfare. Respect for animal welfare is often based on the belief that nonhuman animals are sentient and that consideration should be given to their well-being or suffering, especially when they are under the care of humans. These concerns can include how animals are slaughtered for food, how they are used in scientific research, how they are kept (as pets, in zoos, farms, circuses, etc.), and how human activities affect the welfare and survival of wild species. There are two forms of criticism of the concept of animal welfare, coming from diametrically opposite positions. One view, held by some think ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Animal Cruelty Incidents
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage in which their body consists of a hollow sphere of cells, the blastula, during embryonic development. Over 1.5 million living animal species have been described—of which around 1 million are insects—but it has been estimated there are over 7 million animal species in total. Animals range in length from to . They have complex interactions with each other and their environments, forming intricate food webs. The scientific study of animals is known as zoology. Most living animal species are in Bilateria, a clade whose members have a bilaterally symmetric body plan. The Bilateria include the protostomes, containing animals such as nematodes, arthropods, flatworms, annelids and molluscs, and the deuterostomes, containing the echinoderms an ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ypres
Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres/Ieper and the villages of Boezinge, Brielen, Dikkebus, Elverdinge, Hollebeke, Sint-Jan, Vlamertinge, Voormezele, Zillebeke, and Zuidschote. Together, they are home to about 34,900 inhabitants. During the First World War, Ypres (or "Wipers" as it was commonly known by the British troops) was the centre of the Battles of Ypres between German and Allied forces. History Origins before First World War Ypres is an ancient town, known to have been raided by the Romans in the first century BC. It is first mentioned by name in 1066 and is probably named after the river Ieperlee on the banks of which it was founded. During the Middle Ages, Ypres was a prosperous Flemish city with a population of 40,000 in 1200 AD, renow ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lorraine
Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of Lotharingia, which in turn was named after either Emperor Lothair I or King Lothair II. Lorraine later was ruled as the Duchy of Lorraine before the Kingdom of France annexed it in 1766. From 1982 until January 2016, Lorraine was an administrative region of France. In 2016, under a reorganisation, it became part of the new region Grand Est. As a region in modern France, Lorraine consisted of the four departments Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse, Moselle and Vosges (from a historical point of view the Haute-Marne department is located in the region), containing 2,337 communes. Metz is the regional prefecture. The largest metropolitan area of Lorraine is Nancy, which had developed for centu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Burgundy
Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The capital of Dijon was one of the great European centres of art and science, a place of tremendous wealth and power, and Western Monasticism. In early Modern Europe, Burgundy was a focal point of courtly culture that set the fashion for European royal houses and their court. The Duchy of Burgundy was a key in the transformation of the Middle Ages toward early modern Europe. Upon the 9th-century partitions of the Kingdom of Burgundy, the lands and remnants partitioned to the Kingdom of France were reduced to a ducal rank by King Robert II of France in 1004. The House of Burgundy, a cadet branch of the House of Capet, ruled over a territory that roughly conformed to the borders and territories of the modern administrative region of Burgundy. U ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Saint-Chamond, Loire
Saint-Chamond () is a commune in the Loire department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in central France. Situated 13 km northeast of the city of Saint-Étienne and 50 km southwest of Lyon, the town dates back to the Roman period. It lies in an iron and coal region, which were the basis of industrial growth during the 19th and 20th centuries. As many of the mines and factories closed in the late 20th century due to restructuring, there was a loss of jobs and population. The present city of Saint-Chamond is the result of the merger in 1964 of the communes of Saint-Martin-en-Coailleux, Saint-Julien-en-Jarez, Izieux and Saint-Chamond. The new town is the third-largest town in the department. Location Saint-Chamond is located in the Gier valley between the Monts du Lyonnais to the north and Mont Pilat to the south. The peak of Perdrix, at is the highest in the Pilat massif. The "Saut du Gier" waterfall is in the Pilat Regional Natural Park. The peak of Œillon pro ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Aleksandr Bushkov
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Bushkov (born April 5, 1956) is a best-selling Russian author who has written books in the genres of science fiction, crime fiction, popular history and non-fiction. In his belletristic, published in literary and popular journals, Bushkov has been critical of conventional academic approaches in fields such as history and evolutionary biology. As indicated on the personal webpage of the author, his total number of volumes published (all works and all editions) exceeds 17 million. Biography Aleksandr Bushkov was born in the ancient city of Minusinsk, which is located Krasnoyarsk Krai, Siberia, Russia, on April 5, 1956. His ancestors had Baltic origins and originated in Lithuania. He struggled to learn in a conventional classroom setting, and he has stated in interviews that he was a poor student, often acting up. Bushkov would never receive an undergraduate degree and was largely self-taught, through his voracious appetite for reading. His personal library ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |