Giving an owl centre the bird

COULDN'T GIVE TWO HOOTS: By George,
it's George the Indian Eagle Owl

I'M going to ruffle a few feathers. I feel very uncomfortable about wild birds in cages. It seems so cruel.
Visited the Baytree Owl and Wildlife Centre at Weston near Spalding in Lincolnshire a few days ago and really felt as though the £3 I paid to get in would have been better spent elsewhere.
Yes, I was able to see some beautiful owls and birds of prey close up, but was it worth it? I don't think so. Apart from an impressive Secretary Bird which strode purposefully up and down an enclosure, the other birds were kept in cages too small for them to do what is natural to them and fly a reasonable distance.
The 'cells' definitely could not be described as aviaries, which by definition are large enclosures. And all the birds looked so miserable. It was a feeling that certainly rubbed off ... although I didn't fly into a rage!

George, the Indian Eagle Owl - a native of India, Pakistan, Nepal and Burma - according to the spiel on  his cage, was a case in point. His natural habitat is wooded hillsides, areas of bushy scrub and semi desert (or dessert as suggested by the notice on his cage). I suspect our sad-looking George would struggle to find any of the above in the sprawling expanse of the Lincolnshire Fens ... if he is lucky enough to venture out of his cage, of course.

And a young Common Kestrel seemed desperate to take flight. He didn't appear to have a name but for the purposes of this post we'll call him Kes. That classic didn't have a happy ending either. 

Poor Kes just clung to the top of his enclosure peering into the distance.

OK, there are some lucky birds which do get to do what they are meant to do during flying demonstrations, but I suspect they are in a minority here.
And while they appear well cared for in terms of food and shelter, I can't help get the feeling that most of these birds are there simply for profit rather than preservation.
Bird conservation is hugely important and I am sure that Baytree's own breeding programme will ensure that some species will not die out. But when a project is limited to the confines of a large popular garden centre then the doubts creep in.

PS: Mother-in-law seemed in fine spirits today but sadly, her powers of speech are fast dwindling. She didn't know who I was and confused my wife with her sister. Alzheimer's is a horrible disease.

NB: Please remember that by clicking on the adverts on this blog you are helping to make a contribution towards Alzheimer's research (see previous posts). So get clicking ...

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PREY, WHAT IS THIS? It's Kes the Kestrel 

NO COMPANY FOR SECRETARY: This bird
struts its stuff in a larger enclosure