WELFARE OF BIRDS KEY
I support the Manawatu District Council’s proposal to close the bird aviaries at Kowhai Park.
Our social acceptance of keeping birds in aviaries provides another clear example of generational thinking.
Rather than acknowledging the obvious cruelty of keeping a living being destined to fly free in the sky, confined in a cage, we have been conditioned to think that this practice is acceptable.
Clearly, condemning such intelligent creatures to a boring and monotonous life in a cage is totally unjustifiable.
For our own kind, being caged equates to imprisonment. It is no different for any other species that shares this world with us.
Caged birds often exhibit destructive abnormal behaviours, and it’s not surprising when natural behaviours such as flying, choosing a mate, belonging to a flock, building nests and dust bathing are denied to them.
In the wild, birds such as the kereru and the tui can fly up to 45 kilometres per day. However, in an aviary they can barely stretch their wings.
It is my understanding very few people are capable of caring for the special needs of exotic or native birds or can comprehend the seriousness of the commitment for the birds’ lifespan.
The Manawatu Disrict Council has the opportunity now to free the birds caged at Kowhai Park and introduce more native trees to the area to attract the birds back to the park in their natural environment.
It is also easy for any person to make a bird feeder and have it on their own property and encourage the the birds to feed.
The council should not be in the business of setting up bird aviaries.
The people who want to see birds enclosed in wire cages are probably still keen on going to see a circus with caged lions and elephants tethered by steel chains.
I challenge anyone to say that keeping native and exotic birds is not cruel and spending thousands of dollars on an unreasonable project is warranted.
Gary Barnett, Feilding (Abridged)