A man (of course of the bull-dog breed), not many years since, engaged to
attack a bull with his teeth, and so far succeeded as to deprive the
animal of power to hurt him.
In Bury, too, so late as the year 1801, a mob of "Christian savages were
indulging in the inhuman amusement of baiting and branding a bull. The
poor animal, who had been privately baited on the same day, burst from
his tethers in a state of madness. He was again entangled, and, monstrous
to relate, his hoofs were cut off, and he defended himself on his mangled,
bleeding stumps!"
The public exhibition of this most cowardly pastime is now prohibited; and
the bull-ring was taken up, by order of Mr. Buck, out of this market-place
about eight years back.
The name of the Rev. James Buck, rector of Lavenham, deserves to stand
recorded as one of the most indefatigable magistrates who, uniting
authority with compassion, exerted himself to the last in the cause of
humanity.
The common arguments which have ever been adduced to show that we have
animals bred by nature for various sports, and that the poor man has as
great a right to his share of amusement as the rich man--that there are in
all countries animals originally formed and carefully trained to the
exercise of sports--must be admitted; but the Creator of Brutes and the
Judge of Man never can behold cruelty to animals without hearing their
cry; and although they are all evidently sent for the wise purpose of
affording food, and of contributing to the comfort and improvement of the
condition of man, they never were created to be abused, lacerated,
mangled, and whilst living, cut to pieces and baited by brutes of superior
race, depraved at heart and debased by custom.
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