In 1587, the residents of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne in Savoy, France, found their prized vineyards under siege by leaf-rolling weevils destroying their crops. Rather than simply crushing the pests, the town council took the devoutly legalistic route typical of ecclesiastical courts at the time and filed a formal lawsuit against the insects. The court appointed two legal representatives, Pierre Remont and Antoine Filliol, to defend the weevils' rights.
The defense argued brilliantly that God created animals before humans and bestowed upon them the right to feed on vegetation to survive, meaning the insects were merely exercising their divine right to eat. The prosecution countered that God gave humans dominion over the Earth and that the bugs were unlawfully depriving the villagers of sustenance. The trial dragged on for eight agonizing months.
Realizing the insects might win or that the legal process was stalling indefinitely, the town offered a compromise: a designated parcel of land called La Grand-Mercière where the weevils could feed without human interference. However, defense attorney Remont rejected the land offer, pointing out that the allocated plot was barren, rocky, and utterly devoid of nourishment. Just as the court was preparing to rule on whether the proposed sanctuary was sufficient, the trial ended abruptly when the court records were damaged—possibly eaten by bugs.
Today, it remains one of the most absurd yet fully documented examples of historical animal trials.