In 1939, 400,000 cats and dogs were massacred in Britain, their corpses heaped up outside veterinarians offices. Fear of the imminent German blitz led the government to urge pet owners to spare their animal companions so that they would not suffer in the bombing raids. Hilda Kean s gripping narrative of this little-known event includes tales of smuggling pets into bomb shelters, trading bits of cat food on the black market, and preemptively killing thousands of pets at the start of the war to save the food supplies in ...
Read More
In 1939, 400,000 cats and dogs were massacred in Britain, their corpses heaped up outside veterinarians offices. Fear of the imminent German blitz led the government to urge pet owners to spare their animal companions so that they would not suffer in the bombing raids. Hilda Kean s gripping narrative of this little-known event includes tales of smuggling pets into bomb shelters, trading bits of cat food on the black market, and preemptively killing thousands of pets at the start of the war to save the food supplies in England. Kean is able to show vividly how pets were an important part of British wartime experience. She pays close attention to animals, both symbolic and actual, arguing that after the pet massacre, human-animal bonds became stronger and closer. In the process of telling this history, Kean necessary complicates the picture of World War II as the good war fought by a nation of good, animal-loving people. Her close use of primary materials (diaries, personal sources, contemporary newspapers, collective public reports on daily life, etc.) gives palpable reality to the animals and their fate at this time. This forgotten aspect of Britain s history makes us rethink accepted accounts of the War and shows the ways in which animal and human histories are inextricably linked. We are also constrained to rethink our assumptions about ourselves and the animals with whom we share our homes."
Read Less
Add this copy of The Great Cat and Dog Massacre: the Real Story of World to cart. $21.00, new condition, Sold by BiblioMadness rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Worthington, MA, UNITED STATES, published 2017 by University of Chicago Press.
Add this copy of The Great Cat and Dog Massacre: the Real Story of World to cart. $21.19, very good condition, Sold by Midtown Scholar Bookstore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Harrisburg, PA, UNITED STATES, published 2018 by University of Chicago Press.
Add this copy of The Great Cat and Dog Massacre: the Real Story of World to cart. $23.95, good condition, Sold by Affordable Collectibles rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Columbia, MO, UNITED STATES, published 2017 by University of Chicago Press.
Add this copy of The Great Cat and Dog Massacre: the Real Story of World to cart. $26.20, very good condition, Sold by Once Read Books rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Long Beach, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2017 by University of Chicago Press.
Add this copy of The Great Cat and Dog Massacre: the Real Story of World to cart. $27.94, new condition, Sold by Orion Tech rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Arlington, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2017 by University of Chicago Press.
Add this copy of The Great Cat and Dog Massacre: The Real Story of World to cart. $29.19, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 2018 by University of Chicago Press.
Add this copy of The Great Cat and Dog Massacre: the Real Story of World to cart. $35.00, like new condition, Sold by Buckeye Bookshop Online rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Stow, OH, UNITED STATES, published 2017 by University of Chicago Press.
