Some Thoughts About Christmas

Podcast – Some Thoughts About Christmas

Christmas is supposed to be a special time of kindness, compassion and gratitude. Christmas gives people the opportunity to reaffirm shared values and to strengthen social bonds. It is a time where people share feelings of excitement and are unified in the experience of participating in a ritual together. It makes people feel like they are part of a collective, whether that be with kin or chosen family. And this is, as humans are social beings, one of our fundamental human needs.

Robin Geneviee
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How To Care For Visually Impaired Birds

Rook Malcolm

Blindness occurs in many species including birds. Some birds are born blind while others develop blindness. But regardless of how an animal may become blind, blind animals require special care that is different than that of a sighted animal. Knowing how to care for a blind or visually impaired animal can help to prevent many frustrations, misunderstandings and injuries.

Carrion crow Aurelia

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Are Animals Able To Ask Humans For Help?

Before we look at some examples of animals seeking human help, it seems a good idea to address the often heard myth that we as humans must not anthropomorphise animal behaviour. Although this is still a widespread believe, even amongst otherwise renowned scientists, it is simply wrong, based on the ever increasing anecdotal and scientific evidence. I have chosen four short excerpts taken from Marc Bekoff’s book “The Emotional Lives of Animals – A Leading Scientist Explores Animal Joy, Sorrow, and Empathy – and Why They Matter”, who addresses this misconception in his usual precise, ethical and scientific manor. 1

‘Careful and detailed behavioral studies have shown time and again that we can indeed differentiate and understand animal behavior, and how it differs in various social contexts.’

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Treating Animals With The Respect They Deserve

Carrion crow Merilyn

Being sentient means to have the capacity to have positive and negative experiences, such as feeling pain and pleasure. This applies at the very least to all animals with centralised nervous systems. Sentient beings have their very own unique personalities. We should refer to them as “he/she”, “them/they” or by species. The words “it” or “thing” should not be used to refer to an animal, and “who” is used rather than “that”. If you do not know the gender, then choose one: “he” or “she”. Even if your gender choice is wrong, it is more respectful than “it”. This is an important way of demonstrating the respect we ask others to afford all animals.

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House Martins Narziss And Goldmund

Narziss and Goldmund
Editor’s note: This blog post has been updated on 12/04/2018.

Admission – 30/07/2017

Narziss and Goldmund are two premature house martin fledglings, who have been found on the ground being unable to fly. Their nest allegedly came down for unknown reasons. According to the finder, Narziss has been spotted in the morning being on the ground and unable to fly, but has been left there for reasons unknown. Only as Goldmund has been spotted in the afternoon, also being found on the ground, both birds have been collected by the finder and brought to us. The admission assessment did not reveal any external injuries. However, both house martins demonstrated very obvious signs of dehydration, starvation and exhaustion.

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