Cages were built to hold bears, leopards, bulls, alligators, and lions to execute criminals – rarely was this quick and easy but rather a display of savage cruelty to keep people in line through fear and humiliation. People might be tied up and shredded alive by a starved animal or hung from a net in the air and viciously attacked by an antagonized bull who after flinging them around, gored them to death. This was considered family entertainment.
