Fisherman Mike Posted September 20, 2004 Report Share Posted September 20, 2004 I had a call late on Saturday night from a friend who lives next door to a chap who has had a variety of animals in his menagerie at some stage, who I know well from my days of keeping a Harris and other birds which were in recovery from RTA or similar. This chap who cannot be named for legal reasons had a young female Harris and I have never seen any bird in such a dreadful condition in all my life. He had gone away on holiday and asked my friend to keep an eye on it. left no instructions at all and just ******** off. When I went round on Sat evening the bird was in such a sorry state I wept. I dont know if will be saved. The bird was housed in a cage open to the elements about 2ft 6 ins x 3 ft. With a rabbit carcase chucked inside. The water bowl was upturned and empty. When this guy gets back he is in for a big shock and I have promised myself that if a successful prosecution isnt made by the Authorities I am going to take action to ensure that this doesnt happen again. This reinforces the points made on a similar topic a few weeks back about having the proper facilities and taking the proper advice before obtaining any animal or bird let alone a Falcon or Hawk. FM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PEREGRINE Posted September 20, 2004 Report Share Posted September 20, 2004 FM your story is an all too familiar one i'm afraid. I have been called out by the RSPCB as an expert witness to many such incidents, one of the worst being a female Redtail Hawk, (a very large bird) being kept under an upturned shopping trolley!! One thing I have noticed about these people is they are never sorry, or in any way willing to accept responsibility for the distress they cause the animals, or birds that are unlucky enough to find themselves in these peoples care. Some people are just not cut out for keeping animals, but for some reason are not prepared to accept the fact, and birds of prey are just so much more succeptible to bad management and handling. Personally I think some kind of licensing is called for and in order to qualify for a licence the individual must do a management course with a recognised instructor, I say recognised because many of the so called professional falconers out there are little better than the beginners they are trying to train. Keep an eye on this man though, in my experience once the RSPCB has confiscated this bird he will try to get another bird at some point, and believe me, the second will fare much the same as the first. You cant take these things to heart though mate, the world is full of wrongs that we just cant right, all we can do is our best. Regards Peregrine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisherman Mike Posted September 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2004 Very true mate but very sad... as God is my Judge if the guy had been at arms reach on Saturday night I would have strangled him. I called the RSPCA officer out and some of the stories he told me I just couldnt believe. FM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.