Mankind, the signature accomplishment of the process of evolution has, as such, morally inherited the obligation to act, when necessary, to eliminate wrongdoing and bigotry practiced towards his fellow man, and arguably, any other planetary inhabitant. It might be felt that homo sapiens was implicitly invested, to the extent of his abilities, with the general oversight of the planet, inclusive of its fauna and flora. By way of illustration, a miscreant who destroys property and nature, by igniting a forest fire, or one who practices cruelty to animals in his conduct of the reprehensible “business” of dogfighting, would be appropriately sanctioned by man’s designated societal authorities. Regardless of the status of the injured on the planet’s perceived hierarchy, bias and overt acts of injustice, responsibly require appropriate comment and the just imposition of suitable sanctions.
At times, bias and injustice are practiced against victims who, by reason of the limited extent of their natural-born capabilities, may not be equipped to oppose it (or, indeed, may not be cognizant of its existence). In our zeal for rectitude, we, responsibly, feel the obligation to speak out in such instances.
For as long as our memory serves, the “Feral” or “City” pigeon, has been deprecated to the point where it is often referred to as a “city rat.” Serious efforts to exterminate this innocent, attractive and harmless bird, founded upon such hateful misperceptions, have been undertaken in the past, and we understand, presently continue to be under way. The spurious grounds, for such lethal programs are, (1) they multiply too fast, (2) they are “dirty,” (3) they spread disease and (4) they produce a large quantity of natural waste.
Before we proceed to fully and easily discredit such allegations, we would like to make some observations about these these populous and popular birds. They generally appear to be city dwellers, and have amused tourists in New York, England (Hyde Park and Trafalgar Square), Paris, (all the major parks and public gardens), Rome, Venice’s St. Marco Square and, in fact, all the Cities we have had occasion to visit in Central Europe. Observing them and feeding morsels of crackers, bread or popcorn to these people-friendly birds, is a delight to all tourists, especially children. Additionally, wherever we travel, their frequent presence is a nostalgic reminder of home, regardless of the country visited, (since they all look and behave identically alike, everywhere) and are a welcome sight.,
They emit a soft “coo,” in contrast to the bizarre raucous sounds of certain other birds, such as jays, crows and magpies, they have varied, pretty feathers, they are not predatory (except to insects), they have an entertaining hop accompanied by humorous head movements similar to the “boppers” from the rock and roll era, and, they are very intelligent. As to the latter, studies reveal that they can learn a full 25 letters of the alphabet and, remarkably, also possess the capacity to conceptualize.
Since ancient times (year 2500), by reason of their homing instinct, they have been used very successfully, as messengers; crucially so in wartime. In more current history, they were of vital use during both world wars (this was long before the advent of digital communication) and have, reportedly, saved tens of thousands of lives. Pigeons have demonstrated, amazingly, that they can return home within the space of the same day, even when they deliver a message, 400 to 600 miles away. It was interesting to read that the Rothschilds used pigeons to impart private financial information to their offices, worldwide.
With reference to the fallacious charge that pigeons spread disease, authoritative studies show that the transmittal of a disease to a human being would, in fact, be a most rare event. As to the other spurious critique, that it “produces a lot of waste,” it has not, to date, been definitively shown whether the pigeon’s manufacturing capability, in this respect, is to any extent, comparable to known human, canine or feline production capabilities of the subject material.
coo !!
-p.
plinyblogdotcom 