Dear Editor,
I am in total agreement with Syeada Manbodh in her letter captioned ‘Birds should not be in cages’ published in Stabroek News dated 15th July, 2013. Persons capture birds when they are very young, and imprison them in a 12 inch square cage.
On being placed initially in the cage, the birds suffer debilitating mental pain and depression that cause them to slam their young feathered bodies into the sides of the wire cage in a desperate but useless attempt at freedom. After umpteem such attempts and mentally broken, these young birds by their voices protest madly to be free. The capturers, undaunted by the obvious suffering, compound the situation by placing a black or white cloth over the entire cage, thus submerging the caged bird in total darkness for long periods of time. Imagine, Editor, the mental pain and suffering; imagine the utter cruelty. Birds were made to fly free in the open air.
If dogs or cats or horses were subjected to similar cruelty, the Guyana Society For The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals would spring into action, and the perpetrators would be charged under the present legislation outlawing cruelty to animals. There is need for similar legislation outlawing cruelty to birds and authorizing punishment for those who imprison birds in such cruel conditions. I respectfully invite your readers to be heard on this issue.
Yours faithfully,
Oswell Legall
