CAGED BIRDS AND ANIMALS

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22591, 22 December 1938, Page 5

CAGED BIRDS AND ANIMALS

TO THE EDITOR 01 THB FBESS Sir, —Having read "Bird Lover's" letter in Saturday's paper, I feel compelled also to write in defence of the many creatures which are so thoughtlessly ill-treated. Birds in cages especially have a bad spin. It seems that their owners feel that the smaller the cage -the better. The space they are confined in is so small that they are forced to hop backwards and forwards

for exercise instead of using the wings God gave them to fly with. The cages are strung up in cold, draughty verandahs, or in the blazing sun without any shade. It is quite pathetic to hear these brave little songsters trilling under such conditions. Goldfish in their glass bowls are also sad to watch, every movement bringing them on to the side of the bowl. It is a cruel existence. Angora rabbits in small wire cages with not enough room to move round in are also shamefully treated. A great source of interest to everyone in the Gardens is the aviary, but the pheasants at least do not look particularly happy. One struts endlessly up and down against the wire as if seeking a way to escape. It is breaking its heart and should be released. I saw the Auckland Zoo for the first time last year, and only then realised what a pitiful thing a zoo is. There were some very dejected animals near the gates in depressing enclosures. The lions and bears all looked restless and unhappy and the cage for the eagles was far too small. Observing these things one is forced to remember the very true verse in the Bible: "And God said, let us make *

man in our own image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowls of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." (Gen., 1: 26.) Man has abused his power. May he awaken to the wrong he is doing.—Yours, etc., OBSERVER. December 19, 1938.