Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uunet!intercon!ooblick
From: ooblick@intercon.com (Mikki Barry)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: Cardinals and Idiots was birds and gators
Keywords: captive cardinals
Message-ID: <1554@intercon.com>
Date: 16 Nov 89 14:05:33 GMT
References: <1989Nov15.013610.15152@xanadu.com> <3499@nmtsun.nmt.edu>
Reply-To: ooblick@intercon.UUCP (Mikki Barry)
Distribution: na
Organization: InterCon Systems Corporation
Lines: 29

In article <3499@nmtsun.nmt.edu> john@nmtsun.nmt.edu (John Shipman) writes:
>If you are aware of any violations of this law, you should report
>them to the authorities; failure to report violations could make
>you liable as an accessory.  Game wardens or other employees of
>your state game and fish department can handle these complaints.
>They will also handle any necessary rehabilitation.

Reporting violations can well lead to the destruction of the birds.
Far too many state game officers would rather destroy the bird than
bother with the difficulty of finding a rehabilitator.  I've "rescued"
many birds and been told to just put them back outside by local game
types when it would have been impossible for them to survive.  Wildlife
rehabilitators will tell you that it is rare that these state people will
bother to bring them an injured bird or animal.  Most of them come
from private shelter people or those who find the bird in the first place.

There have also been multiple cases of people finding and rehabilitating
birds to the point where the bird will survive, but have some physical
defect that makes it unsuitable for life in the wild.  When game types
have found out about this, they have confiscated and destroyed the bird.
This happened last year with a crow whose wing had to be amputated.  The
bird had become a pet, learned to talk and was having a wonderful life when
the state of arizona decided that they knew better and destroyed the bird.

The intent of the laws against taking native birds is good.  Unfortunately,
sometimes it is lost on those who wish to uphold the letter of the law at
the expense of the birds.

Mikki Barry