Parisian Monument Honors Animals Who Died in WWI

A new monument has been unveiled in a Parisian park. Located in the Square Boucicaut, the sculpture honors the animals which died during World War One. Featuring a dog, a donkey, a horse, and a dove being led by a soldier, this monument was inspired by a similar project in London known as the Animals in War Memorial. The creator of the piece is artist Gérard Collin-Thiébaut.

The monument shows a donkey, a dog, and a horse standing next to a soldier. The male figure holds a dove in his hand. The entire monument is painted blue. This color is commonly associated with the French soldiers during World War One, as it was the color of their uniforms. Of the four animals, three have numbers carved into them. These numbers represent how many individuals of each species died during the war. During World War One, 11 million horses, 100,000 dogs, and 250,000 doves were killed. There is no documentation stating how many donkeys and mules were killed. For this reason, the depiction of a donkey does not have a number carved into it. 

The monument took five years to be completed after initially being proposed in 2018. Its creation was led by the animal rights organization Paris Animaux Zoopolis. The organization has said that the monument offers people an opportunity to remember the animals who were killed during World War One, as well as to rethink and question humans’ relationships to animals.  

In addition to the recently unveiled Parisian monument, several plaques honoring the animals who served in World War One are to be installed throughout the city. Two plaques have already been installed in the 11th and 19th districts of Paris. Three more will soon be installed in the city’s 8th, 14th, and 18th districts. 

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