From the 13th to 18th centuries, European courts, especially in France, tried animals like pigs, rats, and insects for crimes such as murder, crop damage, or sorcery. Animals received lawyers, trials, and punishments including execution or excommunication. One famous case involved a pig hanged for killing a child. These reflected beliefs in animals' moral agency under divine law.

Animal trials inspired satirical and moral poetry critiquing justice and anthropomorphism, influencing fables and beast epics in European literature. They appear in works exploring absurdity of law and folklore, shaping Romantic and modern poetic reflections on human-animal boundaries and societal rituals.