Shameless exploitation

My blood is still boiling.

As we were finishing our sumptuous special Friday Breakfast, my wife noticed a cage or trap which appeared to have been set on our perimeter fence! She also noticed that what looked like a trapped parrot inside!

I didn’t waste much time, I immediately unhooked my step ladder, went to the fence and retrieved the cage, complete with a male rose-ringed parakeet, into our garden.

On closer inspection, the contraption was ingenious, albeit barbaric and cruel. It was surrounded with tens of very fine looped fish-wire loops arranged in hang-man nooses which would trap anything that falls into them. I wouldn’t be surprise if those nooses – being so thin – would not completely sever the feet of poor unfortunate birds that land in them. My own fingers were trapped into them several times as I was dealing with the cage.

The cage itself was divided into two compartments, the top one inch contains some monkey nuts which the bird does not have access to – he has to make do with a wilted bit of apple and a couple of nuts, no water – and the bottom is where the decoy bird is, as clearly seen from the picture.

The whole contraption is well thought out. Even the pole that the cage is tied to is well thought out, it is constructed in a modular format in three sections, one fitting on top of the other – lego style, which is how the height of the trap is adjusted.

I cut the side of the cage while Frances tried to calm the bird a bit. I can tell you that it didn’t require too much encouragement to fly out.

Free at last.

Once that was done, I completely destroyed the cage, and waited for a knock on the door.

That didn’t take too long.

Two well turned out and very healthy looking young men in their twenties wanted to speak to me. The first question from one of them was “did you take the trap?”

“Yes,” I said, “and released the bird and destroyed the trap”

“Why? The trap was in the street beside your house!”

I couldn’t believe the cold heartedness of those guys.

“Yes, but you are taking ill-advantage of our goodness. What made you decide to place a trap there?”

“Because we noticed a lot of birds come here”

“Well, didn’t that intimate that we actually love birds, put out food for them to invite them into our garden and make them feel safe enough for them to return over a long period of time? What gives you the right to destroy all of our work? What gives you the right to take advantage of our efforts without any thought or consideration?”

“Yes but we were just trying to make a living!”

“Well son, you can make a more honourable living than stealing other people’s efforts in such a heinous manner. If you object to the way I dealt with your trap – and I shall continue to do so – then feel free to go to the police and complain.”

“No no, we don’t want to do that…”

“Fine, then don’t, but you both look intelligent enough and healthy enough to find a more honourable way to make a living. Not by taking advantage of other people right in their homes like this.”

Something must have clicked in their heads that they won’t win that morning, and they won’t get their contraption back. They apologized and went on their way. Hopefully never to be seen in our neighbourhood again.

The sad thing is I’ll probably find that the law is actually on their side and there is no law in this country to even limit the damage they are doing to the environment and wildlife.

This reminds me of the sad state of affairs that animals are kept in Bahrain, and particularly the despicable treatment animals are treated with in this country and the disgusting public souqs in which one could find any kind of domestic and exotic animal. All in the complete knowledge and acceptance of the authorities.

   

Something should be done about this. Some cultural change must be invested in to get people to at least be a bit more compassionate to animals. I know that parliament is far too busy with other much more important things at the moment to even consider laws of animal protection, and the police – bless their hearts – are far too busy in their own way too…