in this, France and Spain distinguished themselves. In his book "Ivan the Terrible: The Bloody Poet", in response to accusations of Western European authors and ideologists against Russia of savagery and barbarism, Russian author Aleksandr Bushkov writes: The French had a "nice" habit of burning and hanging cats on the day of John the Baptist. How they annoyed the French so much remains a mystery. The differences between the regions are solely in the specifics of the process: in Paris, cats were stuffed into a bag, hung it higher, and then set on fire. In Saint-Chamond, cats were doused with resin, set on fire, and then chased through the streets. In Burgundy and Lorraine, before setting fire to the "May pole", a cat was bound to it. See also List of common misconceptions about the Middle Ages#Cat massacres and the subsequent plague Cruelty to animals Kattenstoet (Ypres, Belgium) References External links Link to Google book excerpt describing cat-burning in France Animal cruelty incidents Cruelty to animals Animal welfare Animal killing Cultural history of France Cultural history of Spain Cultural history of Belgium Felids and humans Entertainment