Our Home Pets How to Keep Them Well And Happy
Now, without in any way advocating thc caging of birds, I must say that there are two si lcs to this. as to most cluestions. It is true tlie capti vc i s at tiic IIICI-cy o f his I 2 OUR HOME PETS owner his food depends upon some ones memory his comfort, his very life, are in the power of another but the same is true of the household dog and cat, still more of the horse. Moreover, the last-named animal is so much fiorse o hp h is made to work, and often r r a abl. pk , bjrJfiis o wner, yet we he
...ar little syqp2 hcy e , rpressed. for, his state of slavery. r r r r r , - c l t r l , c f u f o C afitore hn adult bird, accus r r r r r ,-tamed to freedom and to caring for himself, and confine him in a cage it is worse than cruel, it is brutal, to neglect to provide carefully for his comfort when thus imprisoned. But that a captive bird, ro erdy caz ght and n er ckerisked, must necessarily be unhappy I emphatically deny, and my opinion is based upon several years close study of birds in confinement. By properly caught, I mean taken from the nest, or when just out of it. By properly cherished, I mean not only fed and watered as regularly and carefully as we attend to our own physical needs, but in every other way made as happy as is possible by loving attention and thoughtful consideration. As to the canary, born in a cage, of caged IS IT CRUEL TO KEEP BIRDS 3 ancestry, he is utterly incapacitated for freedom. So far from being a kindness to give him his liberty, it is a positive cruelty. He has never sought food or shelter, he has no notion of doing either, and he must inevitably perish. Birds that have been taken from the nest are in a similar condition of ignorance. Unless kept in captivity a very short time, and afterwards supplied with food till they learn to care for themselves, to thrust them out is like taking a child brought up in luxury and forcing him into the streets to pick up his own living. This comparison is not in the least exaggerated. A young bird is taught by his parents where and how to get his food. Close observers may see this instruction going on all summer, when nesting is over and young birds are out. If, then, this period of instruction is passed in a house, and he is adult when turned adrift, there is no one to teach him, and he must learn by hard experience, or die in the attempt. I have read stories of children being induced to set free their pets, because they would be so much happier. One... --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
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