Awareness for illegal poaching & selling /songbirds

[Bad_azz]

This is a really beautiful animation... the whole illegal bird trade leaves me sick in my heart though.

 

[Nimbus]

I recognize the song, it’s a classic from 4 decades ago by the late Chrisye. It’s a beautiful piece, and the video is a good use of it.

I have decided since I was a kid that I would NEVER own a bird in a cage. Most birds are not pets, unlike dogs or cats that develop attachment and dependency to us humans.

If it’s a cockatoo or a parrot that’s free to come and go, then maybe. Even then I’d still not own one because they can be loud and are very high maintenance.

Back in the Jakarta kampung, I used to see kids carrying air rifles to shoot any critter that moves. It was disgusting to see them shooting harmless birds just for fun. My air rifle was used solely on rats, which we had no shortage of.

 

[harryopal]

Many many years ago my children went to the Victoria market and gave me a birthday surprise by presenting me with a caged cockatoo. I had told them childhood stories of a cockatoo that, when someone knocked on the door, would call out, "Mum....Mum." which we used to do when there was a door knock. It would also whistle for the dog to come and then, when the dog, responded the cockatoo would say, "Get out of it." It also liked to walk along the clothes line taking the pegs holding up the clothes.

With my surprise birthday cockatoo I explained to my children that I didn't like caging birds and animals and so we went out into the country and released the bird. They were happy with that and so was the cockatoo.

In Townsville which has lots of birds, I put a stand up outside the backdoor with birdseed and water and every morning a dozen or more rainbow lorrikeets and figtree birds would come. Magpies and a kookaburra would sit on the railing to be handfed and sulphur crested cockatoos would occasionally visit for sunflower seeds mixed with the birdseed. Pigeons would come like vacuum cleaners so I used to chase them away. A downstairs neighbour angrily told me I was a bird racist and I was stupid to feed native wild birds. Given the birds were living in a suburb and not a natural environment I wasn't persuaded by that so I continued my bird racism, chasing away the pigeons and feeding the natives.

Here in Bali I put up a stand on the garden wall which I can see from the living room couch and birds come throughout the day for feed and water. Sad to see all those caged birds at the various markets waiting for someone to buy them and keep them locked up in a small cage for the rest of their lives.

While I understand the arguments for zoos I hate to see animals limited to a very small area. Even with the best modern zoos with generous space I can only think how boring life must be for primates and animals used to roaming through their habitat.

 

[Vulgarian]

Bird racism is not a joke. Lorikeet supremacists are increasingly prevalent on social media - you wouldn't believe some of the tweets.