10. Bear Baiting
This is yet another terrible way that mankind has abused animals for their amusement. From the 12th to 19th Century England, it was common for people to capture bears and pit them against a pack of dogs. The bear was always chained by the leg to a fence post, so it had no chance of getting away. Spectators would pay to watch the dogs rip the poor animal to shreds.
The Puritans were the first to try to stop this bloodsport, but their attempts to ban it were ignored for years. During the time that bear-baiting was going on, brown bears were very common in the UK. Today, brown bears have essentially become extinct in England. By the 20th Century, they were being imported from other countries to be used their fur, meat, and bear grease.
