British pet massacre

Overview

The British pet massacre refers to the mass euthanasia of an estimated 750,000 cats and dogs — roughly a quarter of England's pet population — in 1939, driven by widespread fear among owners that they would be unable to care for their animals during wartime. Historians who have examined the event, including Hilda Kean, have concluded it was recognized as unnecessary almost immediately, arising from social panic over the impending war, unresolved conflicts about the social role of pets, and a desire among ordinary citizens to feel they were contributing to the war effort.

Background

During World War I, abandoned feral pets in London had become a significant problem. Seeking to avoid a repeat, the British government formed the National Air Raid Precautions Animals Committee (NARPAC) in 1939 to determine policy on pets ahead of the coming war. NARPAC was concerned that evacuating owners might leave pets behind, and it published a pamphlet, "Advice to Animal Owners," focused mainly on relocating pets to the countryside. However, the pamphlet also stated that if pets could not be placed with neighbours, "it really is kindest to have them destroyed."

The Incident

When Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain announced on 3 September 1939 that Britain had declared war on Germany, large numbers of pet owners immediately took their animals to veterinary clinics and animal homes to be put down. Organizations including the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) opposed the drastic measures, but their facilities were overwhelmed in the following days. PDSA founder Maria Dickin stated that staff called upon to perform the euthanasia "will never forget the tragedy of those days." According to historian Hilda Kean, queues outside London clinics stretched for half a mile, and the surge caused a shortage of chloroform and difficulties disposing of the remains.

Historians have characterized the panic as groundless: there was no actual shortage of supplies at the time, German bombing of Britain was still months away, and none of the underlying fears materialized. Kean, author of "The Great Cat and Dog Massacre" (2017), attributes the killings partly to lingering reactions to the World War I feral-pet crisis and partly to a sense among citizens that euthanizing pets was a way to actively contribute to the war effort. A year later, following the September 1940 bombing of London, another wave of owners rushed to have their pets killed, reportedly out of concern over bombing and food shortages and a sense that keeping a pet was an inappropriate "luxury" during wartime.

Not all organizations followed the trend: Battersea Dogs Home continued to feed and care for roughly 145,000 dogs during the war and maintained a field in Ilford as a pet cemetery, where about 500,000 animals were buried, many from the war's first week. Nina Douglas-Hamilton, Duchess of Hamilton, publicly opposed the pet culling and established her own animal sanctuary at Ferne.

Legacy

In 2017, historian Hilda Kean published "The Great Cat and Dog Massacre," a book-length account of the event and its causes.