The Urban Parrot

2014-08-21 UrbanParrot-maxi & Joe

My friend and I met Maxi the Urban Parrot perched on the shoulder of his owner in a  pleasant street in West London.

Twas  late summer and Maxi and his owner were  relaxing together. The parrot seemed very content and rather sophisticated. It is such a blessing for animals like Maxi to find loving homes which allow them to evolve and to be as free as possible, yet  protected . Not cramped say in a tiny cage with no room to move around and stretch their wings let alone fly.

I once saw a parrot in a small coastal town in the southern Mediterranean, it was trapped in a tiny cage placed very high beyond reach on a building, below which was a garage that  did car repairs. The parrot eventually died the owner of the garage was  sad  and  wistful about this and wanted to get another replacement bird.

In that same town I  met a young boy of about 12 years old with his pet parrot on his shoulder, the parrot seemed content, the boy told me as we spoke that it was important to respect animals,though around him was disrespect and he was unaffected by it.

The illegal trade in exotic animals is cruel, one day it will cease. I came across a young macaque monkey in a sanctuary who had been rescued efficiently by the police in that very same town. The little monkey was so joyful in his temporary enclosure, and very curious . Found hidden in the bag of a long distance coach traveller destined  for?

The non human primates, are closely related to us, they are   social animals, highly intelligent and for this they suffer greatly at the hands of humankind.

What is legal as far as the treatment of animals are concerned varies in different places and different epochs. Peace is the way for us humans. We don’t have to get bogged down in intellectual concepts and circular arguments  about the  animals  or  anything,  no more than the child and adults  did who spoke the truth, that the Emperor  wore nothing in  Hans Christian Andersen’s  famous story ” The Emperor’s New Clothes”.

The Emperor ‘s New Clothes- the expensive ( though  actually non existent  suit of clothes)  commissioned for regal purposes was in fact worthless. The Emperor  had been conned by thieves and rogues and  he was unfortunately  deluded. So,that which was portrayed as being of worth, was worthless,  and  the delusion  was  shattered.

The agony of the animals, the affronts to Gaia and  her children, wherever they are and, wherever they are hidden , will  also be shown to us as  cruel  delusions  and   will be shattered, and cleared away by Gaia .The forces of nature are  stronger  than us and  our alignment can be with nature not in opposition or  attempted subjugation of her.Respect for wild life is not to plunder it ,  not to harm it for destructive and selfish human purposes.

There are  however many people and organizations who are helping wild life and other animals , in various countries including the western world, for the encroachment of humans, and deforestation for example affect the habitats of many creatures. Wild life  encompasses many creatures e.g  from the majestic and  exotic,  to birds of prey great and small  and the tiniest  scruffiest  little mammals, for they are all loved  and important.

The help given  in certain  cases can  be seemingly low key-  incidental ,but nonetheless vital for the animals. Various  farmers in south west  England and  other regions  for example ,have  taken the care when growing  crops to  leave a  border , a verge around  fields so  that  small  mammals  like  voles  can thrive which in turn  provides  food for hard pressed  birds of prey.

One feels  much gratitude  that those  farmers  are actually aiding  the conservation of wild  life  by helping  strengthen the  food chain of  a  vulnerable  ecosystem . Conservation and  respect  for wild life , means that future generations , and young children  can experience  and enjoy the beauty of the Earth.

Posted  1st  December 2014

© Wendy Datta 2014