Is there any truth to the legend of "The Sow of Falaise," a French pig that was tried and executed for murder? Are there other historical instances of animals being tried in court and subsequently punished?
How about the Monkey-Hangers of Hartlepool, who during the Napoleonic Wars (and having never seen a Frenchman or a monkey) decided that a monkey they'd found after a shipwreck was actually French spy?