The Victorian era witnessed the rise of animal protection, zoos, pet keeping, natural history, cattle and sheep breeding, vegetarianism, antivivisection, and dog and cat shows.  But it also beheld big game hunting, blood sports, animal abuse, a burgeoning fashion industry that threatened animal populations, and widespread fears of our animal ancestry, sparked by Darwinian evolution. Animal artists drew exotic specimens and animals of all species observed from life and on location.