The London Pet Panic of 1939

From a review (TLS Sept 22) of Hilda Kean's The Great Cat and Dog Massacre: the Real Story of World War II's Unknown Tragedy, shocking for anyone who knows how the English feel about their pets:

In light of these narratives of the British as good, unflappable animal lovers, the central historical event around which Kean's book revolves is shocking. At least 400,000 cats and dogs (around 26 percent of London's cat and dog population) were euthanized in London in the first week of the war. This mass euthanasia was not legally required or even recommended by the British government, was opposed by veterinarians and animal charities, and occurred during the period of the "phoney war", long before the bombs began to fall over London. Rather than following decrees from above, the killings were instead the result – Kean argues – of the separate decisions of different individuals, often parents, many of whom euthanized family pets despite the heartfelt protests of their children or, where children had been evacuated, without telling them at all. . . . In some cases the killing of pets may have been a displaced expression of panic. Some pet owners, when called to the military, could not bear to think of their beloved pets being handed over to others; some owners feared that their pets would end up roaming lost and scared after bombing raids, and believed it would be kinder to kill their animals before that could happen.

Of course other animal owners reacted differently, sharing their rationed food with pets even if it meant going hungry; the government thought about restricting the production of dog food but realized that most dog owners would just feed their pets human food instead, and dog food was easier to produce. But what a weird event, just another of the million ways World War II continues to shock and disturb.