Judge — February 5, 1910 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This Judge cartoon advocates for animal welfare, specifically criticizing cruel treatment of animals. The central image shows a man being jerked by the nose—mirroring how he tortures a bull. The satire invokes the Golden Rule ("Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"), suggesting that if humans experienced the same abuse they inflict on animals, they'd understand the cruelty. The S.P.C.A. (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) reference indicates this reflects early 20th-century animal-rights activism. Various panels depict different forms of animal torture—nose-jerking, dragging, beating—with the "muzzle" headline suggesting restraint of human cruelty rather than animal behavior. The cartoon uses moral inversion to shame viewers into reconsidering how they treat animals.