Pigeons and kittens

[conuly]

Often, I hear people talking about how we need to get our cats fixed because kittens die young or are abandoned to overcrowded shelters, like a kitten-genocide. We need to keep the kittens and cats indoors because they get run over by cars, and die of disease. We need, even, to save feral cats who BY DEFINITION are very much wild animals.

This is all true. I have no argument with any of that.

Today, I fed the pigeons in the ferry. They crowded around the food like... well, like kittens. And some were plump and healthy looking, and some were scrawny and dirty. No doubt pigeons die from poor nutrition and cars as often as cats do. Cats kill pigeons, even, or they can. And no doubt baby pigeons die as quickly as kittens. Certainly *I've* never seen any young pigeons.

Pigeons, like cats, are smart and individual animals. But nobody goes out of their way to mount pigeon rescue efforts, or tries to save the poor homeless pigeons. I'm actually being dead serious here. This is going to trouble me until somebody explains why.

Comments

[deathweasel.livejournal.com]

Cats go in litterboxes and are cute; pigeons go on ...everything and they are ... not as cute. I'd sooner adopt a crow. (no really, crows are great.)

[joeymew.livejournal.com]

Because there's a general dislike for pigeons. I can't understand that myself, I love pigeons. I constantly hear them called skyrats. But the whole rat thing is an argument for someone else who knows more then me.

hello random person I don't know...

[ex-chaos-by-699.livejournal.com]

That's a good point you brought up. As far as I can tell, there's no rational reason for people preferring kittens to pigeons. I think it comes down to the "cuteness" factor, but I suppose even that you can say is subjective (though people do seem to often agree upon what's cute; I wonder if it's something biological?).

I think it's one of those stupid human inconsistencies. There probably are people out there who care about all animals (well, I know there must be!) though.

Re: hello random person I don't know...

[thelonetiel.livejournal.com]

There is something biological. Humans and other mammals are programmed to respond to anything "cute", defined as large head to body ration, large eyes, large foreheads, and jerky movements among other things, with strong maternal/paternal instincts. Pidgeons dont fall into that catagory. When people see kittens they automatically respond with parenting instincts and feel obligated to protect and care for them. We have no such instincts for birds, unless we "install" them ourselves by condition us. Its complicated...

It bugs me too Uly.

People keep cats as pets and see them as clean animals. Pidgeons are usually seen as wild creatures who are flithy and disgusting. They consider this a good reason to hate pidgeons. *shrugs*

So why is there such a difference? Because people are idiots, plain and simple.

Re: hello random person I don't know...

[conuly]

1. How'd you find me?
2. You'd think it WOULD come down to the cute factor, and in a way it does, but in a way it doesn't. People who are interested in saving the whales will talk about how "aren't whales cute", but the reality is that whales AREN'T cute.

[catsluvdmb.livejournal.com]

Because pigeons are wild animals that spread disease. A lot of groups don't believe ferals should be domesticated either. They'll just fix them and set them free again.

That said, in Brugge, Belgium, they tag the pigeons so restaurants won't capture them and serve them for dinner. I guess that could be considered a rescue effort.

[conuly]

All animals spread disease, though.

[catsluvdmb.livejournal.com]

Not in the way birds do. Birds are the carrier of more crossover diseases than other animals (though rodents do come in a close second). Both the fecal matter and the feathers can carry the disease over to humans. That's why at my office people with compromised immunities and pregnant women can't work. Meanwhile vets can still treat most animals under these same conditions.

Just thinking about the avian blood smears in zoology class is wigging me out. Yuck!

[deathweasel.livejournal.com]

Cats go in litterboxes and are cute; pigeons go on ...everything and they are ... not as cute. I'd sooner adopt a crow. (no really, crows are great.)

[joeymew.livejournal.com]

Because there's a general dislike for pigeons. I can't understand that myself, I love pigeons. I constantly hear them called skyrats. But the whole rat thing is an argument for someone else who knows more then me.

hello random person I don't know...

[ex-chaos-by-699.livejournal.com]

That's a good point you brought up. As far as I can tell, there's no rational reason for people preferring kittens to pigeons. I think it comes down to the "cuteness" factor, but I suppose even that you can say is subjective (though people do seem to often agree upon what's cute; I wonder if it's something biological?).

I think it's one of those stupid human inconsistencies. There probably are people out there who care about all animals (well, I know there must be!) though.

Re: hello random person I don't know...

[thelonetiel.livejournal.com]

There is something biological. Humans and other mammals are programmed to respond to anything "cute", defined as large head to body ration, large eyes, large foreheads, and jerky movements among other things, with strong maternal/paternal instincts. Pidgeons dont fall into that catagory. When people see kittens they automatically respond with parenting instincts and feel obligated to protect and care for them. We have no such instincts for birds, unless we "install" them ourselves by condition us. Its complicated...

It bugs me too Uly.

People keep cats as pets and see them as clean animals. Pidgeons are usually seen as wild creatures who are flithy and disgusting. They consider this a good reason to hate pidgeons. *shrugs*

So why is there such a difference? Because people are idiots, plain and simple.

Re: hello random person I don't know...

[conuly]

1. How'd you find me?
2. You'd think it WOULD come down to the cute factor, and in a way it does, but in a way it doesn't. People who are interested in saving the whales will talk about how "aren't whales cute", but the reality is that whales AREN'T cute.

[catsluvdmb.livejournal.com]

Because pigeons are wild animals that spread disease. A lot of groups don't believe ferals should be domesticated either. They'll just fix them and set them free again.

That said, in Brugge, Belgium, they tag the pigeons so restaurants won't capture them and serve them for dinner. I guess that could be considered a rescue effort.

[conuly]

All animals spread disease, though.

[catsluvdmb.livejournal.com]

Not in the way birds do. Birds are the carrier of more crossover diseases than other animals (though rodents do come in a close second). Both the fecal matter and the feathers can carry the disease over to humans. That's why at my office people with compromised immunities and pregnant women can't work. Meanwhile vets can still treat most animals under these same conditions.

Just thinking about the avian blood smears in zoology class is wigging me out. Yuck!