The Ethics of Pet Ownership: A Case Study

Spanish Mastin Ebro
Content Advisory Notice: Please be informed that the forthcoming material describes images of violence, which might be distressing for some individuals. However, no photographs of violence or graphical imagery has been used in this post. 

Introduction

We often get requests for advice from all over the world regarding corvids, birds and wildlife in general, and even sometimes regarding domestic animals. Over the years we have covered many of these queries by individual blog posts. These blog posts can be found on our dedicated First Aid for Birds or Corvid Care pages, in our FAQ section, or in the general Corvid Isle Archive. Occasionally, a special topics come up that might trigger a new blogpost, like this one about the ethics of pet ownership.

Spanish Mastin Ebro – in loving memory.
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A Practical Guide for the Care of Aging Birds

Rook Aquiel

Introduction

Sanctuaries are safe places, where resident animals can live a protected and happy life, grow old and eventually pass away in dignity. This also means that with good care more and more animals may reach an advanced age, which they rarely would in the wild. The logical consequence is that carers in sanctuaries should be able to recognise and respond to a variety of natural and pathological effects of aging. It goes therefore without saying that sanctuaries should be prepared and able to cater for the support needs of our aging friends. This blogpost tries to provide a practical guide for the care of aging birds.

Rook Malcolm
Rook Malcolm
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Jackdaw Jacky

Jackdaw Jacky

Introducing Corvid Isle Sanctuary Residents

Jacky was born in spring 2011. She has been raised by a kind person after being found on the ground as a nestling. We took over her care in 2019 as the previous guardian became unable to care for her. Jacky is an imprinted and unreleasable but otherwise very happy bird, who thoroughly enjoys living in a human household.

Jackdaw Jacky enjoying a sun bath
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Rook Brambles

Rook Brambles

Introducing Corvid Isle Sanctuary Residents

Rook Brambles came to us as an adult bird in May 2013. We have rescued him in a somewhat daring and quite prickly rescue from a cliff, where he was trapped in a large hedge of brambles, hence his name. Brambles arrived at our sanctuary in shock with a bleeding compound fracture of his left wing caused by a shotgun injury.

Brambles had been intentionally shot and left to suffer by a person with an antisocial personality disorder obviously lacking any empathy and respect towards the suffering of sentient beings. This particular person did act illegally and unethically by clearly showing his or her disregard for the law by hunting on a public path causing a sentient being to suffer unnecessarily.

Rook Brambles after his wing amputation
Rook Brambles after his wing amputation
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Large-billed Crow Project in South Korea

Large-billed crow

We would like to support Joey Rositano’s ‘Large-billed Crow Project’ in South Korea by sharing the link to the Kickstarter he is currently running for the digital version of his book ‘Scattering’.

‘Scattering’ is a limited edition photography book about crow feeding rituals on Jeju Island in South Korea. As part of their shamanic faith residents of Jeju Island leave portions of food for scavenging animals, especially crows. Over five years Joey Rositano documented the special relationship between people and large-billed crows in the village of Darakut in South Korea.

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