Caged

I went in search of a bird for my 5-year-old neice. A real, live bird. I wanted a small bird in a small cage. I had a finch in mind. But most pet shops carry budgies, which are okay. The sales people said, They're just like parrots, you can train them to talk. But I really didn't care for their chatter and the very yellow feathers.

I did find a shop that carries finches. Beautiful delicate finches. I wanted a pair for myself. The Man said, Don't get them, they're noisy whiners. I said, Nonsense, they have a pretty birdsong. But they need to be kept in pairs. That's two birds in a cage for two. No longer a small cage. After looking at the finches for a while, I couldn't do it. I couldn't buy caged birds.

As pretty as they were, as romantic as the idea was to give a pair of birds to my neice, I felt there was something vile about caging birds. I was reminded of why I can no longer go to zoos. I can't stand seeing the animals penned up, living in an artificial environment, whose sole purpose of existence is to be on display.

Or why I can't go to circuses. I can't stomach seeing animals whipped and made to do unnatural things for our entertainment. It seems so disrespectful to them, so degrading, so conceited of the trainer to exert his will on them just to show his mastery, as if boasting of man's dominion over animals.

Not that I am such an animal lover. I just want a pair of finches to admire and keep me company. I still want to give my neice a pair. I mean, how is keeping birds in a cage different from keepng fish in a tank? I need to sort this out.