Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

I should warn you that this book can be more than a little disturbing. Darwin describes the placating grimaces of zoo animals trying to avoid or mitigate a beating. This was the first time I realized that zoo animals were routinely beaten in the 19th century. Yet Darwin seems to take it for granted: which implies that it was a general practice at the time.

Valerie, I had no idea that they beat animals!

I hadn't suspected it before I read this book; either. I knew that there was strong resistance to animal cruelty prevention in the 19th century (at least one pope argued that protecting animals from cruelty was a violation of scriptural guarantees of human sovereignty).

But I hadn't realized that zoo animals were routinely beaten until I read this book by Darwin.