Wolf-baiting is a

blood sport A blood sport or bloodsport is a category of sport or entertainment that involves wikt:bloodshed, bloodshed. Common examples of the former include combat sports such as cockfighting and dog fighting, and some forms of hunting and fishing. Acti ...

involving the baiting of

wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; plural, : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been reco ...

against

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

s. Historically, the baiting of wolves was more in the context of training dogs for

wolf hunting Wolf hunting is the practice of hunting gray wolves ''(Canis lupus)'' or other species of wolves. Wolves are mainly hunted for sport, for their skins, to protect livestock and, in some rare cases, to protect humans. Wolves have been actively hun ...

than public entertainment. Wolves would sometimes be caught, either at the end of hunts, or in set traps, and would be set upon by the dogs, usually as a way of helping them master their fear of the animal. When training young or inexperienced dogs, the wolf would be hamstrung. Accounts as to how wolves react to being attacked by dogs vary, though

John James Audubon John James Audubon (born Jean-Jacques Rabin; April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851) was an American self-trained artist, naturalist, and ornithologist. His combined interests in art and ornithology turned into a plan to make a complete pictoria ...

wrote that young wolves generally show submissive behaviour, while older wolves fight savagely. One of the earliest recorded incidents of wolf-baiting occurred during one of the

Roman civil wars This is a list of civil wars and organized civil disorder, revolts and rebellions in ancient Rome (Roman Kingdom, Roman Republic, and Roman Empire) until the fall of the Western Roman Empire (753 BCE – 476 CE). For the Eastern Roman Empire or ...

. The

Dacians The Dacians (; la, Daci ; grc-gre, Δάκοι, Δάοι, Δάκαι) were the ancient Indo-European inhabitants of the cultural region of Dacia, located in the area near the Carpathian Mountains and west of the Black Sea. They are often consid ...

, hoping to take advantage of Rome's division, pressed their chieftain Scorlyo to launch an offensive. Scorlyo brought several dogs to the city square, which immediately began fighting one another. However, a captured wolf was brought in, to which the dogs ceased their fighting and attacked it. By this, Scorlyo intended to teach his people that whatever war a nation had within itself, it would always stand firm in attacking an outsider. However, wolves can be extremely dangerous opponents for dogs, even when outnumbered.

Louis XIII of France Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...

once acquired an old wolf and set his best dogs on it three at a time. The wolf managed to kill twelve of them without sustaining any serious injury. The fighting styles of wolves and dogs differ significantly; while dogs typically limit themselves to attacking the head, neck and shoulder, wolves will make greater use of body blocks, and attack the extremities of their opponents.''Handbook of Applied Dog Behavior and Training: Adaptation and learning'', By Steven R. Lindsay, Edition: illustrated, Published by Wiley-Blackwell, 2000, , , 410 pages

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

once wrote that he considered a large mastiff a match for a wolf only if the latter was a young or undersized Texas wolf, though he conceded that even if the dog was the heavier of the two, its teeth and claws would be very much smaller, weaker and its hide less tough.

References

{{Baiting Wolf hunting Baiting (blood sport) Cruelty to animals

See also

References