working with predators?

[owlsie]

I've been considering doing some kind of rehab work with birds of prey. I'm not sure how I feel about having to feed them dead animals though... do I have the right to kill a being even if it saves another? Does anyone here work with carnivores & how do you deal with such a thing?

thanks :)

Comments

[owlsie]

That's a good point. But say the animal only needed to be sustained as long as it was injured - as soon as it can take care of itself, it's released? Unlike, say, in a zoo where the animals kept are perfectly healthy and probably won't be released.

[bitspike]

This comment may not be very helpful, but this sort of situation is the kind I intentionally avoid because I don't like to be in a position where I have to make difficult choices. Instead, I try to focus my energy on preventing the issues from appearing in the first place - eg, rather than help home cats, I advocate putting an end to the breeding of 'pets

[owlsie]

Thanks!

As far as I know, baby chickens are used. I'm not entirely sure, but I do believe it is the male chicks left over from the meat industry. :/

[toodlepipsky]

Perhaps this perspective might help: we eat meat because we're deluded into thinking we're built for it and need it physically. In the process, we opress and end lives that do not need to be ended for us.
The birds of prey that you're helping are built for the kill and do need the meat, physically. You're working to fix the damage us humans did to these animals, and that's great, but in the wild (where they should be) they'd end lives of their prey and eat meat.
I understand how killing these animals can be a strain for you, so maybe you can use the environmental enrichment approach and convince your managers to let the birds do the killing themselves? I know it's not very nice for the food animal but some kind of compromise has to be made or you'll be stuck in a moral limbo and those birds won't have any help.

In any case, ou're a great person for doing this and I really admire you for it.

[owlsie]

Thanks !

[toodlepipsky]

Oh, and your icon rocks :)