ratbaiting on Birmingham Dailyhttps://birminghamdaily.co.uk/tags/ratbaiting/Recent content in ratbaiting on Birmingham DailyHugo -- gohugo.ioen-usWed, 17 Jun 2026 04:58:00 +0000When Savage Rat Baiting Was a Popular Spectacle in the West Midlandshttps://birminghamdaily.co.uk/when-savage-rat-baiting-was-a-popular-spectacle-in-the-west-midlands/Wed, 17 Jun 2026 04:58:00 +0000https://birminghamdaily.co.uk/when-savage-rat-baiting-was-a-popular-spectacle-in-the-west-midlands/Gambling has long been a popular pastime in the West Midlands, but before the era of World Cup bets, residents engaged in a far grimmer form of entertainment: rat baiting. This brutal “sport” involved dogs being pitted against dozens of rats in violent contests that drew huge crowds. In the mid to late 1800s, rat baiting was more popular than darts. Historians Richard Pursehouse and Ben Cunlife have delved into historical archives to reveal just how widespread and brutal this pastime was in the region.