“He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.”
― Immanuel Kant

Keeping animals confined in cages or in chains is animal cruelty without a doubt. The beauty of birds lies in their ability to soar high in the skies. Birds look elegant and beautiful only when they are flying freely in the skies. All captured or captive birds and forced to live in cages. In the wild birds are never alone. They are not solitary animals. They always stay in a flock and do all things together; preen together, play with each other and sometimes even take care of each other’s offspring. Most birds also have one mate throughout their life they won’t take another mate even if their first dies or is lost in the wild.

For most birds forcing them to live in tiny confined spaces called cages is almost equal to cutting their feathers. They can suffer from malnutrition, anxiety, loneliness. Birds are not meant to be kept in cages and hence keeping them in cages drives them crazy. They become agitated, have temper tantrums and start behaving erratically. In extreme cases birds start weaving their head back and forth, continuously shift their weight from one foot to another and also start to pick out all their feathers. Most birds are captured illegally and then they are exported to all parts of the world. In these situations the birds are force fed, their are wings clipped and their beaks taped together and they are stuffed into anything the smugglers can find be it a tire or a suit case. Most birds die of suffocation even before they reach their destination. Most birds that have been raised in captivity don’t sell well after they are 10 weeks old. These birds are kept in small congested and confined spaces and bred illegally.

If you already have a bird, don’t set it free. Since they have been raised in a non hostile environment ,they don’t have the ability to survive in the wild. They have no idea how to deal with the harsh weather conditions or how to look for food. If they have been raised in a household with cats and dogs they will mistake all cats and dogs to be friendly and that might not end so well for them. We must try and ban the illegal capture of birds but the solution to this problem is not abandon your pet birdie. If birds are allowed to roam freely they wouldn’t be depressed and sad. Most birds bond with their humans and leaving them suddenly to fend for themselves in the wild could leave them with separation anxiety. There are many ways to keep your bird happy and if you follow all those methods your little birdie won’t be depressed.  Some birds cannot be released in the wild so their owners must do all they can to keep their little birds happy.

Chaining your dog is not right

Dogs are called man’s best friend but more often than naught man treats his best friend very cruelly. Most dogs spend their entire lives confined in small kennels tied to the end of a chain. They are deprived of care, love and a proper shelter. Dogs are supposed to be kept indoors and if you have a huge dog then having a huge kennel for it outside the house is alright but they should never be chained. Keeping dogs chained outside is cruel because then have to suffer the extreme heat and freezing temperatures all alone. This might also be lethal for them. All our dogs want  to do is to scratch their eats or roam around the neighbourhood and curl up at their owner’s feet but we condemn them to stay outside far away from us in miserable conditions. Dogs love staying close to their owners and chaining them outside is a punishment in itself. Dogs are social animals are chaining them makes them sad, depressed and aggressive. Improper fitted collars and chains also make their necks stiff and this hurts them.

Most people say that since their dog is not well behaved and aggressive it has to be chained  but that is no excuse. A dog’s behaviour is a reflection of its owner’s. Most owners don’t bother training their dogs and abuse them and when the dog becomes aggressive they blame it on their dogs. Dogs if trained properly will not have to be chained.  The same goes for big dogs. The saddest part is that sometimes chained dogs accidentally hang themselves if they are chained too close to the fence and attempt to jump over it. Chaining an animal as docile and friendly as a dog is inhuman and cruel and there should be strong laws against it.

Whether it’s keeping birds in cages or keeping dogs chained both can be counted as a form of animal cruelty. Animals are born free and they are meant to be free. Humans need to learn that keeping an animal as a pet is one thing but confining it and inflicting pain on it just because it gives us some sick pleasure to tame all beings beneath us is barbaric. Animals give us their love and devotion and make our lives so much better so it is our duty to reciprocate this love and keep them as comfortably as we can.

The post THEY NEED TO BE FREE TOO appeared first on Pet Attack.