The bird is probably gong to die anyway. It’s probably better just to kill it.
Depends on the injury, actually. A broken wing—yeah, that bird’s not gonna last in the wild. A bite from a cat that misses vital organs and doesn’t bleed out, or some scratching? It may well survive that if it can recuperate, clot up, and retain the ability to fly after. Living systems have this weird ability to, y’know, heal from damage inflicted as long as it’s not too severe.
Everything’s going to die eventually. So are all the people you might ever help. Should you just not help because in the long run everything’s doomed to be recycled?
They’ll probably just euthanize it anyway. But yes, it can make you feel good if you don’t know or think about what’ll end up happening.
I take it you’re not a wildlife rehabilitator and don’t know anyone who is? Because that’s not the standard response to injured animals...
I take it you’re not a wildlife rehabilitator and don’t know anyone who is?
If you must know my cynicism was given to me from my veterinarian sister who spends a surprising amount of her time killing wildlife that well intentioned but naive individuals have brought in to her or to wildlife nuts. At times she even has to bite her tongue and not tell them that if they had left the poor creature alone it probably would have lived but now that they caught it it is going to die!
Because that’s not the standard response to injured animals...
Injured animals like sparrows? I beg to differ. (I’m sorry, they don’t get sent ‘to the farm’ or ‘go to sparrow heaven’ either!)
At times she even has to bite her tongue and not tell them that if they had left the poor creature alone it probably would have lived but now that they caught it it is going to die!
Sure. And she’s a veterinarian, not a wildlife rehabilitator (person whose job it is to, oddly enough, rehabilitate injured wildlife for re-release).
Injured animals like sparrows?
In the bit that’s a response to, you were talking about coyotes and raccoons, not sparrows.
No it isn’t. The context is ambiguous. Not that it matters either way since I do maintain a substantial disagreement regarding the most common outcome for larger-than-sparrow-but-still-not-important creatures that token do-gooders try to intervene to rescue.
It would not seem controversial to suggest that neither of us are likely to learn anything from this conversation so I’m going to leave it at that.
Depends on the injury, actually. A broken wing—yeah, that bird’s not gonna last in the wild. A bite from a cat that misses vital organs and doesn’t bleed out, or some scratching? It may well survive that if it can recuperate, clot up, and retain the ability to fly after. Living systems have this weird ability to, y’know, heal from damage inflicted as long as it’s not too severe.
Everything’s going to die eventually. So are all the people you might ever help. Should you just not help because in the long run everything’s doomed to be recycled?
I take it you’re not a wildlife rehabilitator and don’t know anyone who is? Because that’s not the standard response to injured animals...
If you must know my cynicism was given to me from my veterinarian sister who spends a surprising amount of her time killing wildlife that well intentioned but naive individuals have brought in to her or to wildlife nuts. At times she even has to bite her tongue and not tell them that if they had left the poor creature alone it probably would have lived but now that they caught it it is going to die!
Injured animals like sparrows? I beg to differ. (I’m sorry, they don’t get sent ‘to the farm’ or ‘go to sparrow heaven’ either!)
Sure. And she’s a veterinarian, not a wildlife rehabilitator (person whose job it is to, oddly enough, rehabilitate injured wildlife for re-release).
In the bit that’s a response to, you were talking about coyotes and raccoons, not sparrows.
Not actually true.
Someone said:
You said:
I said:
So yes, actually true.
No it isn’t. The context is ambiguous. Not that it matters either way since I do maintain a substantial disagreement regarding the most common outcome for larger-than-sparrow-but-still-not-important creatures that token do-gooders try to intervene to rescue.
It would not seem controversial to suggest that neither of us are likely to learn anything from this conversation so I’m going to leave it at that.