The BBC video on the BBC website about the shipping of 19.5 tons of mummified cats (180,000 mummies) from Egypt to Liverpool, England in 1890 is excellent but for one omission. It does not refer to a very important part of the story; how so many mummified cats came into existence. Where exactly did they come from? Why were so many cats mummified? Did they all die of natural causes? The video is embedded into this site at the end of the article.
Here is the infographic which summarises the story. I have told the story in an infographic as it is much faster and I hope more enjoyable to read. The two videos on this page add some more detail.
Mummified Egyptian kittens used as offerings to the Gods in ancient Egypt by Michael BroadAs you can see in the infographic the story clearly undermines the classic narrative that the Ancient Egyptians worshipped cats and treated them well. Far from it I am afraid. The Ancient Egyptians were the original abusive cat breeders and of the worst kind.
They were respectful of animals says one of the presenters in the video below. How could they have respected animals when they bred and killed so many animals as offerings to the Gods? It was not just cats that were slaughtered in large numbers but 8 million jackals were also killed as offerings. Just another example. Huge numbers. Millions of animals were buried at many cemeteries across Egypt.
And when cats were killed to make cat mummies to ask the Gods for a favour, they were often kittens bred for the purpose. Horrific don’t you think by modern standards?
Below is a BBC video. It is interesting and educational but it ommits to mention a crucial aspect of this story from an animal advocates point of view; the commmercial breeding and killing of often kittens for use as offerings to the ancient Egyptian Gods.
BBC videos often don’t work that well! If that is the case, I apologise.
