Feathers
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Unbeknownst to the intention of mankind
They suffered behind the prison walls
Shrunk in tiny space
Suffocated to near death,
Their feathers begged to breathe.
They would sleep all day long
With dream of past to repeat
Pigeons, spoonbills, fowls and grouse
All united as unfortunate captives.
No matter to their special gifts
Millions are smuggled for variant needs.
Their identity is more to fly than just survive
Whether be slaughtered, eaten, hammered or diced.
So a ship travelled across the Pacific sea
Not to kill but to let them flea.
The tiny hearts could not pound
As they heard dissent of storm around.
They closed their eyes to surrender to butcher’s will
And cowered under their feathers so still.
The doors of their prison when opened
Pearl eyes blinked in incessant fashion
The elusive light was overly bright
The storm was strangely high.
At a trivial flutter of the feathers
The wind took it as a gesture.
She needed them and had waited all day long
To fill the space by carrying them along
One by one, they dared come out
Tens, hundreds, thousands and countless.
The blue veil of father was redeemed
When his lost children were retrieved
They returned to their father sky
Leaving their master with tears of joy.
Informative Content:
In one of the best poems on Inspiration like this, I tried to reflect on the need for a serious issue so as to sort it out. During the last ten years smuggling of exotic birds has been an increasing problem to the American aviculturists and the U.S. poultry industry.
Why is bird smuggling such an unforgivable crime? First of all, each and every bird smuggled into the United States does not go through quarantine and therefore, can and does carry a variety of diseases harmful to all pet birds, and breeding birds in the aviculturist’s collection and in the poultry industry.
Secondly, birds smugglers use very inhumane methods, such as they stuff the birds in spare tires, in luggage, pockets of clothing, gassed or beaks taped shut so they won’t make a sound. Birds are also smuggled by ship and plane and if the person smuggling birds is threatened with capture, he disposes of the birds by throwing them overboard.
There is also the person vacationing in another country who will buy a parrot at bargain prices and think it is great to cheat by smuggling this bird into the country. These people feel proud of themselves for scoring against the government and do not know or care that the consequences of their thoughtless action can produce disastrous results.
The smuggler is not the only person responsible for the unforgivable crime. The buyer of such birds is the person sentencing many, many birds to an untimely death. If there were not such a ready market for these bargain birds then smuggling would decline. We will not realize this decline in smuggling until people are educated and made aware of the dangers of purchasing a bargain or smuggled bird.
One of the greatest fears we as aviculturists and breeders face is the outbreak of VVND (Velogenic Viscerouopic Newcastle Disease). This disease, which can spread rapidly, affects all birds and is very damaging to domestic poultry. Even if the disease is not fatal there are some birds which can become infected without showing any signs of the disease.
These birds are known as carriers and can spread the infection, thereby posing a constant threat to the poultry industry and exotic pet and breeding birds. According to the USDA nearly all outbreaks of exotic newcastle disease can be traced to illegally imported parrots.
When there is an outbreak of highly contagious avian disease such as VVND, USDA inspectors work around the clock tracing each and every bird transaction between wholesalers and retailers, retailers and the consumer, etc. to try and locate any and all birds exposed to the virus. The cost factor of eliminating the threat of a total outbreak of such a contagious virus is in the millions of dollars.
All birds exposed to a suspected bird are placed under quarantine by USDA while tests are done. If these tests are positive then all birds exposed to the disease are destroyed.
This is one way to eradicate contagious diseases before they spread to the poultry industry which could cause massive losses to farmers and drive up the poultry prices at the retail level.
By taking such drastic measures in controlling the spread of VVND thousands of innocent victims are destroyed. They could be your pet macaw, your breeding pair of palm cockatoos, or your show winning budgie. Again this senseless killing of birds could be stopped if:
(1) You would help educate the public about the dangers of smuggling birds and of buying smuggled birds;
(2) Call USDA, Animal & Plant Health Inspection Services or U.S.Customs when you suspect someone of smuggling birds, selling smuggled birds, or in possession of a questionable bird or birds which were bought under very suspicious circumstances such as purchased out of the back of a van, truck or car at a very low bargain price;
(3) Support local and national legislation pertaining to regulatory actions dealing with smuggling of birds; and (4) Request and insist that smugglers of birds be punished by stiffer penalties. The endeavor shall be to write other such best poems on Inspiration.
