The British pet massacre was an event in 1939 in the United Kingdom where over 750,000 pets were killed in preparation for food shortages during World War II.
In 1939, the British government formed the National Air Raid Precautions Animals Committee (NARPAC) to decide what to do with pets before the war broke out. The committee was worried that when the government would need to ration food, pet owners would decide to split their rations with their pets or leave their pets to starve. In response to that fear, NARPAC published a pamphlet titled “Advice to Animal Owners.” The pamphlet suggested moving pets from the big cities and into the countryside. It concluded with the statement that “If you cannot place them in the care of neighbours, it really is kindest to have them destroyed.” The pamphlet also contained an advertisement for a captive bolt pistol that could be used to humanely kill pets.
When war was declared in 1939, many pet owners flocked to pet surgery clinics and animal homes to euthanize their pets. Many veterinarian groups such as the PDSA and the RSPCA were against these drastic measures, but their hospitals were still flooded with pet owners in the first few days. PDSA founder Maria Dickin reported: “Our technical officers called upon to perform this unhappy duty will never forget the tragedy of those days.”
When London was bombed in September 1940, even more pet owners rushed to euthanize their pets. “People were worried about the threat of bombing and food shortages and felt it inappropriate to have the ‘luxury’ of a pet during wartime.”
Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, against the trend, managed to feed and care for 145,000 dogs during the course of the war and provided a field in Ilford as a pet cemetery, “where about 500,000 animals were buried, many from the first week of the war.” A famous opponent of pet culling was Nina Douglas-Hamilton, Duchess of Hamilton, a cat lover, who campaigned against the killing and created her own sanctuary in a heated hangar at Ferne.
Estimates say that over 750,000 pets were killed over the course of the event. Many pet owners, after getting over the fear of bombings and lack of food, regretted killing their pets and blamed the government for starting the hysteria.
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| A New type of animal ambulance which is a big cabinet fitted on the back of any motor car and can be used in any emergency. It was designed by a Mr Paddle of Isleworth who presented it to the National A.R.P. Animals society for their use. The inventor is a great animal lover and the children and their pets are very willing hands to try it out. Little children interested in the new type of ambulance box, July 1943. |
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| Inventor C.H. Gaunt, wearing a gas mask, tests his patented gas-proof pet shelter on a small dog. He invented the chamber in 1938 for use by pet owners who were concerned about what would happen to their pets during potential gas attacks and air raids. |
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| A veterinary surgeon attending to a canine patient in the street after bomb damage forced him to close his premises, 1944. |
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| Rescue of a puppy during the Blitz, South London, ca. 1940. |
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| An RAF serviceman delivers a stray to Battersea. |
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| Cat being rescued in World War II. |
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| A dog with his young owner after a night raid on Hendon, May 1941. |
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| Mrs Fagg and Miss Horsley carrying away their pet dog and canaries after their homes were bombed. |
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| Members of the NARPAC, organization photographed on their errand of mercy as they visited homes damaged by bombs in London Sept. 14, 1940, to collect pets that may be in need of attention or a new temporary home. An air raid warden is seen making friends with a rescued canary. |
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| Members of a local NARPAC rescue a cat from a bombed out building, November 1940. |
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| An award-winning terrier named Beauty, working for the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals, searches through the rubble of a bomb-damaged building for signs of animal life, May 1941. |
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| Two members of the National Air Raid Precautions Animals Committee (NARPAC) carry a dog in an ‘Animal Ambulance,’ ca. 1940. |
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| “Advice to Animal Owners” – Pamphlet stating the euthanize animals before World War II, 1939. |
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