From British Menageries and Hippodromes to the Olympic Circus in the Grand Duchy of Posen: The Origins of the Use of Ostriches in European Sport and Entertainment

Abstract

Throughout history, animals have been involved in human life in various ways. People have attributed a special role to birds of prey or exotic birds, including ostriches, whose involvement in entertainment and sports began in the first half of the nineteenth century. This article discusses the origins, development and reception of the ostrich entertainment industry in two areas of nineteenth-century Europe that had significantly different social, political and economic circumstances: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (as it was then known) and partitioned Poland (the example of the Grand Duchy of Posen). The first uses of ostriches for entertainment purposes in Europe consisted of bird exhibitions in travelling menageries, hippodromes and in circus shows. Among the pioneers of this kind of entertainment in the British Isles was William Batty, and in the culturally excluded territories of partitioned Poland it was Ernst Renz, whose Olympic circus, thanks to its diverse programme of shows and performances, provided important entertainment and educational opportunities for Poles under occupation.