© Barry Kent MacKayMy mother needed me to kill two birds. She had been to a nearby general store with a pet department where they had the usual cages full of small, colorful, tropical “finches.” Two of the birds were dying, their eyes swollen shut by infection. The pet department manager wouldn’t give them to her; after they died, he needed to send their wings to his supplier in order to be reimbursed. Instead, she bought them to spare them even one more minute of misery. But, with so little hope for recovery, she had asked me to euthanize them.[teaserbreak]
She knew that buying the birds was a questionable act because it profited the cruel and callous exotic pet trade, but she simply couldn’t bring herself to ignore the suffering birds at the bottom of an overcrowded cage, waiting in filth to die.
Mom was a pioneer in wildlife rehabilitation, specializing in small birds, but she couldn’t bring herself to put them down. However, by the time I got home, my resourceful mom had worked with the birds and they already seemed a bit better. “Let’s wait,” she said. It proved to be sound advice.
One of the birds was a male yellow-breasted canary. The other was a female red-cheeked cordon-bleu. Both were native to Africa. We named them Little Green and Little Blue, and kept them with us for 14 years. We then moved them to a sanctuary where they lived several more years. Little finches like these are not “expected” to live more than a few years, as they require far more care and attention than buyers are told.
They deserve better. They are wild animals who should be flying freely in their natural habitats. They shouldn’t be considered disposable toys that simply need to be replaced every few years.
The longevity of Little Green and Little Blue was partly due to the freedom they were given. Their cage served as a refuge in a home where they could fly anywhere they liked, eat a varied diet, and interact with other birds. They were lovingly respected and treated as individuals—and we, in turn, were rewarded with their bright, charming presence.
Keep wildlife in the wild,
Barry