When Courts Prosecuted Animals | Tales From the Bottle
For hundreds of years, animals were seen as valid defendants in court trials, leading to some hilarious documented cases.
“In legal history, an animal trial is a trial of a non-human animal. These trials were conducted in both secular and ecclesiastic courts. Records of such trials show that they took place in Europe from the thirteenth to the eighteenth century. In modern times, it is considered in most criminal justice systems that non-human animals lack moral agency and so cannot be held culpable for an act.
The archives on animal cases are spotty. France has preserved significant documentation, but, more generally, extant records do not permit a comprehensive analysis of the prevalence and distribution of these cases at different points in time and place.”
More on Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_trial
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@Qxir
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
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@makssachs8914
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
I guess from the animals perspective we have gone backwards. Before it had someone arguing on its behalf.
@Lilly_the_Snek
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
This is what people did before tiktok
@gyvren
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
0:56 nice hat tip to “Name of the Rose” there! 😉👍
@JoeSmoPedro
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
Speaking of criminal animals being offed, we had a very bad doe rabbit a year ago that liked just up and lobotomizing babies and other rabbits smaller than herself. For her crimes she was caught and committed to the crock pot, she tasted really good but I wouldn't know cuz I didn't get any of the stew before it went bad, sadly
@goldenfiberwheat238
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
Historia civillis already made a video on this
@goldenfiberwheat238
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
4:05 the first albertan
@speleokeir
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
I thought you might mention the infamous Hartlepool monkey that was hung by locals as a french spy. Though that sounds more like a lynching than a legal trial.🤔
For those that don't know the story the monkey was the sole survivor of a ship wreck and being the crews pet/mascot was dressed in a french uniform jacket so the folk of Hartlepool, never having seen either a monkey or a frenchman before concluded it was a french spy and didn't answer their questions because it only spoke french.😐
@Torque2100
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
The number of pigs executed for infanticide should be a reminder that pigs are dangerous.
@BubbaZanetti-p7w
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
I went to a Sheepdog Trial once, except they were handing out ribbons instead of death penalty's.
@jackalmereel
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
Nice.
@unclenogbad1509
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
OK, right. Our ancestors did some pretty mad things a lot of the time. Please keep posting them up, thx.
@Gojiro7
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
theres so much about this happening in real life that blows my mind but leaves me without the right words to express it in text @_@
@Marsden2000
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
I do feel like this could have a positive effect, bringing closure to those affected and also aiding in the selective breeding of non criminal animals.
@thedownwardmachine
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
Maybe this is what he meant when that one guy asked for his lawyer dog
@DannyLee-442
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
"Shitty Kitty Meow Meow's how do you plead?" The Judge asked.
"Meow"
"Shitty Kitty Meow Meow's you are found guilty of crimes against humanity! We except your plea of guilty. and you will be soaked in water until wet, wet WET! And may god have mercy on your soul!"
@fores_of_nature
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
Impeccable pronounciation of fr*nch! You heathen!
@WoodbridgeWidow
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
🎶 The Middle Ages were magic 🎶
@corylong5808
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
I wonder if sometimes these cases served as a strange roundabout way to rule out foul play. For instance, if the pig in the first case was found innocent, it would give authorities reason to investigate further. The rats, however, I cannot rationalize, save for perhaps legal practice, or simply too much time on people’s hands.
@andrewzazz
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
great video buddy
@markbruk2974
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
0:20 the dude at the front is trying not to laugh lmao
@Jetz72
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
Just think how different the world might be today if Harambe had gotten a fair trial.
@andyssrat
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
I really thought I was going to see Hartlepool and a Monkey come up in this video 🙂
@silasskov5395
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
like nr. 4985
@EnRandomSten
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
I love that the farmer realises that the piglets could come with random fees and shit from the court… But ofc he can't say that so he has to play along in not trusting them lol
@Homura_Ryōbi
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
We have a better understanding of animals nowadays. Therefore we need to bring back animal trials since we can better handle any crimes committed and better hand out justice.
@demolisherman1763
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
That rat guy is a genuine medical Saul Goodman
Solomon Goodfellow
@sorryinadvance5362
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
There was a time when qxir videos were poorly animated, such is no more
@JuusoAlasuutari
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
what about animal triathlons
@legoyodascream
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
TFW when you step on a lego
@03-blackbird
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
Question for Qxir. Have you ever watched Sam o Nella? I’m not comparing you too but I will say you’re the only other animated history channel I can watch and actually enjoy. I’d ask Sam the same but he uploads like once every 2 years
@djukor
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
I remember in the game Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney Dual Destinies you defended an Orca whale that was framed for murder.
@PurpleRhymesWithOrange
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
So the rooster was killed for the crime of being transgender
@sagewerk5025
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
i heard it argued that animal Trials might have been mostly to train judges
@jasi5534
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
Religion rots your brain away
@marcussantiago
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
This is the kind of thing that explains why aliens don't visit us
@doubledee8677
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
I thought this might mention the Hartlepool monkey, a story of a simian who was supposedly hanged for the crime of being a French spy.
@GrigoryRechistov
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
Justice for Harambe!
@meph1570
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
some people were laughing during the proceedings, and let me tell you, they were the smart ones who ended up building the nation.
@godzilla928
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
I think that leaving "Tales from the bottle" in the video title doesn't rly makes any sense anymore, because after all this time people don't even remember there were other series on this channel 😅
@samovarsa2640
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
There were some Hittite laws which covered animals; the usual stuff that one could imagine. However, there was one law which gave me great pause and terror. They did cover cases of bestiality – usual punishments were enacted, I.e. the man was refused office and blessings, the animal destroyed, except for one case: if a pig raped a man. In which case there was to be no punishment. That… raised my eyebrows as to 1) that this case ever came to be in the first place and 2) why it was deemed to be legally ok?!?!
@Soundbrigade
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
Yohoo! A new Qxir video!!! 😅😅😅😅😅
@aubs400
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
Back in the Middle Ages, pigs were much more like boar- as such, they were mean and dangerous
@CrazyLeylandFiveTen
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
Animal rights campaigners have, for decades, described farm animals and other beasts as "innocent animals." I guess that these animals were not regarded as innocent. I believe a dog was put on trial once.
@gemfyre855
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
Some priestly dude excommunicated some flies because he felt they were buzzing too loudly.
@nolzyn
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
Maybe it had just been a boring few months.
@escapeddementiapatient
May 9, 2026 at 7:47 pm
I wonder if a dog can be sued if it was given a voice collar.
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