Why has Britain traditionally been regarded as a 'nation of animal lovers'?

Question

what's the origin of the phrase, and does it hold true in comparison to other countries?

Answer 1

is it because we stun our animals before slaughter as where other countries simply murder the animal in front of its friends. Also a mate of mine jumped a fence one night in the endeavours of loving an animal, at court the charge was dropped to the lesser crime of sheep rustling.

Answer 2

Never heard of that phrase.

Answer 3

lol white people are weird.

Answer 4

i love animals. apart from those vermin animals like pigeons and rats well the wild rats

Answer 5

i have no idea, for the most part i cant stand animals

Answer 6

You could probably write an essay on this!

Historically - Britain was the first country to have a society that campaigned for animal welfare (now RSPCA) that led to changes in the law. Anna Sewell's book Black Beauty was a serious work criticising the welfare of horses and led to the spread of concerns regarding the care of animals to other parts of the world, especially the US.

These days we still have a host of animal charities, many working for animal welfare abroad (such as the Brooke Hospital), and many earning huge incomes while charities caring for people struggle to raise enough to keep going. To people from many other countries this seems absolutely bizarre and it appears that we are obsessed with animals. Also, whenever an animal appears in a news story the response is huge - do you remember any of the following: Sefton, the drummer horse seriously injured in the Hyde Park bombings - although people were injured, the news and public interest focused on him and his recovery; the Tamworth piglets that escaped from the Abattoir and went to an animal sanctuary - anywhere else they would have gone back for slaughter as soon as they were caught - I doubt they'd ever have even made it to the news.

It is all these things that make the British appear as a nation of animal lovers to other nationalities, especially in Europe.

I don't know who coined the phrase though - Napoleon called us a nation of shopkeepers perhaps it was another French politician who changed it.

Answer 7

because we have a royal society for the

protection of animals

and only a national society for the protection of children!

Answer 8

i haven't heard that one yet

Answer 9

Majority of house holds have one or more pet.

Answer 10

It's certainly not the case here in the West Midlands. An R.S.P.C.A  report out the other day said that the West Midlands was the worst place in Britain for animal cruelty and neglect. We should be ashamed of our selves.

Answer 11

many animals were raised in britain and that's where many moved to for that was the supply of animals and they were known to love animals

Answer 12

British households traditionally had a cat (to catch mice and vermin) and a dog (to protect the house and yard).

Nowadays society has changed a lot, married couples are having less or sometimes no children and likewise having pets is less common.

Look at all the major breeds of pedigree dogs, the highest percentage of them originated in England since they were so central to English family life.