In 1895 Birmingham gunmaker W. W. Greener invented the world’s first humane animal killer, which was later adopted by the War Office and Admiralty. The device was hit on the end with a mallet, firing a bullet into the animal’s skull. This .310-calibre brass and iron bell-gun version was used in the First World War(1914–1918)  in which 8 million horses died and countless other maimed or diseased mules, camels, donkeys, and oxen had to be destroyed.