Template:Otheruses2 Bait or baiting is the act of worrying or tormenting a chained or confined animal by setting dogs upon it for sport.[1] The dogs attack the opposing animal, biting and tearing at it to subdue it by incapacitating or killing it. Baiting is a blood sport used for entertainment and gambling. It is illegal in most countries with varying levels of enforcement[citation needed]
During the Middle Ages, England used a wide range of animals in baiting spectacles, including, but not limited to, bulls, donkeys, horses, bears, leopards, lions, monkeys, and tigers.
Reputedly introduced to Britain from Italy in the 12th century, the spectator sport of baiting, often of a bear, occurred usually in an arena known as a bear garden. One such garden was located at Bankside, south of the Thames; this was attended by Henry VIII and Elizabeth. Many Tudor nobles kept bear ‘sleuths’ (packs), and baits were held at markets and fairs. Despite Macaulay's remark that the Puritans hated bear-baiting for the pleasure afforded the spectators rather than concern for the bear, there were stirrings of popular disapproval, but the sport declined only slowly; it was not legally banned in England until 1835.[2]
In 1835, the Parliament of the United Kingdom implemented the Cruelty to Animals Act 1835, which prohibited the baiting of domestic or captive animals.[citation needed]
Baiting is illegal under section 445 of the criminal code in Canada.[3]
