Guilty Pigs: The Weird and Wonderful History of Animal Law

by Katy Barnett, Jeremy Gans

An illuminating and entertaining history of the law’s treatment of animalsTrespassing bees, murderous zebras, reasonable cows ... Ever since Biblical times, animals have been clashing with human laws.What to do with animals that injure or kill people, in particular, has long troubled humans. In medieval Europe, ‘killer’ animals – horses, cattle and most often pigs, which were notorious for eating young children – were put on trial. Even in the early twentieth century, circus elephants who lashed out at their keepers in America were summarily executed for their crimes.In Guilty Pigs, animal law experts Katy Barnett and Jeremy Gans guide readers through the philosophy and practice of animal-related law, from the very earliest cases to the issues we are debating today, including the responsibilities of pet owners and the application of human rights to animals. They also cover hunting rights, using animals to solve crime, protecting animals from abuse and neglect, and the unique nature of owning a living being.Filled with lively and sometimes bizarre case studies, this is a fascinating and entertaining read – for all lovers of misbehaving creatures.Katy Barnett is a professor of law at the University of Melbourne. She is the author of the young adult novel The Earth Below and co-author of Remedies in Australian Private Law.Jeremy Gans is a professor of law at the University of Melbourne. He is the author of Modern Criminal Law of Australia and The Ouija Board Mystery, Mischief and Misery in the Jury System, a true crime book. He is a co-author of Uniform Evidence.

Genres: Nonfiction, Law, History

626 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 2, 2022

About the author

By day, Katy is a Professor at Melbourne Law School with extensive academic publications in private law. She has been a visiting scholar at Brasenose College, Oxford. Previously, she worked in the courts as a researcher and an associate to judges, and as a solicitor. She practices her storytelling by describing legal cases to students (her PhD thesis featured a gaol break by a notorious double-agent, Elvis Presley’s gold-plated piano and Jimi Hendrix). She has degrees in Law and Arts (Honours in Law, majors in English Literature, History and Medieval Studies in Arts).

By night, Katy writes about dystopian worlds, an interest she has pursued since her mid-teens. She also loves drawing, etching, calligraphy and other creative, crafty activities. For exercise she walks, and tries to keep up with her children.

The Earth Below is Katy’s first foray into fiction, and will be enjoyed by all lovers of dystopian fiction. She is presently working on a sequel.

Reviews

[Claudia Bailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

rated: 3.5/5

I FINALLY FINISHED THIS OMGGGGGG!! ngl but this took a lot out of me as i was just trying to get through it. i won’t say that i was ‘under qualified’ to read the text, but i defs think that a background in the law would make this a much less mentally-taxing read.

i rlly liked the topics explored in this one - the wacky older stories were of particular interest to me as i found them quite charming i guess haha. i also enjoyed the more modern questions that the authors posed.

one wish was for the text to focus a little more on non-western cultures. i acknowledge that widening the scope may have increased the length exponentially but it could’ve been a fun way to see more opinions.

[Kanako Okiron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe law’s just not my thing, but I am very impressed with the thorough research carried out in this book. I didn’t end up finishing the book but I learned some interesting animal stories which I would have never heard anywhere else.

[Richard Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book very interesting, but it won’t be so for everyone. I have an interest in comparative law and I’m an avid dog trainer so it was right up my alley.

[Olivia Livingstone · Rating 4 out of 5]

an interesting read! some super cool cases