Did the criminal trial of animals in European history stem from the fear of the unknown in western culture?

Yes, the original reason for judging animals in European history is to have a legitimate excuse to slaughter phenomena that people can't understand, such as the rooster lay eggs. People are afraid that roosters will lay eggs, thinking that this must be the magic of witches, or witches can use this egg to make terrible killing tools or plagues. In short, it must be related to witches. This phenomenon, just like in ancient China, people used to associate things they didn't understand with gods or monsters, which were all manifestations of fear.

In China, there are legends about ghosts, while in Western Europe, there are legends about witches. Just as people in China have never really seen a ghost, people in West Renye Fang have never seen a real witch, but the rumor is that not fade away. People's fear of witches is just like their fear of ghosts, or even worse, because ghosts may not harm people, but witches will.

There have been many criminal trials of animals in the history of western Europe, the most famous of which is? Pigs eat babies? This is a real thing in history. The specific events have not been verified so far, but the clues can be seen from the names of the events. It is said that at that time, it was generally believed that the killing pig must have been controlled by a witch, otherwise it was incapable of killing people, even if it was a baby. What's more, it was eaten by cruel means. With this rumor, people can't stop being afraid, so they take the pig to court, convict it in full view, and then burn it.

The second event is about? The rooster lay eggs? Whether it's true or not, the rooster lay eggs can't be explained from today. However, according to records, people didn't make a detailed investigation at that time, only saw that some chickens that looked like roosters actually laid eggs, so there was a rumor that this rooster could be used by witches. After the news spread, people were afraid, so they began to search and slaughter cocks everywhere. From today's perspective, it is probably just a hen that looks like a rooster.

Generally speaking, the trial of animals in European history is indeed a fear of the unknown.