jla@inuxd.UUCP (Joyce Andrews) (06/05/88)
Thank you all for your input. I was able to say thanks
individually to some, and for others the mailer would not return
via the same route ("No, no, that's a one-way street.").
Almost all of you agreed that the savable bird should take
precedence, and if overcrowding becomes a problem, the amputee
had to be euthanised if it was not an educational species or
could not be used in a captive breeding program. The volunteer
staff agreed, with a few reservations. We have developed an
"adopt a pelican or heron" program because most of the houses
here in the Keys are on water. Those pelicans and herons that
cannot fly will be adopted to a FREE situation, where the
home-owner will be responsible for feeding. There will be no
cages...just a yard. The great white herons and pelicans do well
that way...both are pretty tamable birds. In fact, many become
that just because it's easier than hunting. We have to be very
careful that the dock/water/land situation is workable for the
individual bird...when the whole wing is gone, balance can be a
problem. Those birds have to go to someone on the ocean or bay
with a very low water line where they can walk in and out without
climbing. These birds are pretty much able to handle themselves
in a fight with other birds or raccoons, so they wouldn't require
a cage or other "safe" structure.
Seagulls and terns that cannot be returned to the wild will be
euthanised except for one or two that will be used to educate the
public on the evils of not being responsbile for fishing line and
hooks. Cormorants and other ducks will be evaluated on an
individual basis...a cormorant that can't fly may be adoptable in
some situations to an area with mangroves and quiet water where
lots of fish live.
Raptors will be evaluated on an individual basis, although we are
not the last word there. We do have license to euthanize raptors
if necessary, but I have the feeling we'd better have a pretty
good reason for it. And if anyone tells my the baby screech owl
for whom I have been slicing dead mice (I drove to Penney's in
Miami last week after feeding at the Center...while standing at
the catalog counter, I looked down and found a little mouse foot
stuck to the front of my blouse) is going to have to be
euthanised, I'm afraid I won't be rational. He does have a real
balance problem...we think he may have banged his head pretty
hard when he was blown from the nest. I hope he gets over it.
So that's the result of our dilemma. We will euthanize what we
can't adopt out. The people of Monroe County are bird lovers. I
think they will rise to the need.
And to the many who asked...I am a consultant to AT&T. I work
from the Keys some of the time and from Indy some of the time. I
pay my own phone bills and travel expenses so that I can continue
my work and live with my husband, who is a charter sports
fisherman here. I met him on vacation, while escaping the cold
winter winds of Indy. He was a widower with 4 children. I have
2. We are a lively bunch. And that's how I live in the Keys and
my path says Indy.
Thanks again for your input.
--
Joyce Andrews King
ihnp4!inuxd!jla
AT&T, Indianapolis