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suzsull | all galleries >> Galleries >> most_recent_birds_wildlife > blurred out number, how disrespectful. Wing tagging should be illegal as cruel. Imagine having screw through your wing?
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27-JAN-2013

blurred out number, how disrespectful. Wing tagging should be illegal as cruel. Imagine having screw through your wing?

This gull was not well, sure it was when it was captured. I wouldn't help in this study if you paid me. Certainly has resulted in many deaths. This bird was walking very unsteadily. The other tag was missing from the other side, the tail and wing were droopy on right side, tail was fanned on right side. Sometimes gulls grab each others wings and pull, maybe what happened to this bird, another gull pulled on the tag and caused injury? Who knows, what ever the case, it is clearly wrong and disrespectful.

Nikon D7000
1/2500s f/6.7 at 500.0mm iso640 full exif

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sjcourchesne26-Nov-2013 18:00
Hi there suzsull,
These birds are not tagged as part of my own study, but I do work with the people who do this work, and I think this will be a good prompt for us and them to address questions of humane concerns in tagging birds in all sorts of various ways. I hope you will keep an eye on our blog for that, as we would welcome your input there.
http://seanetters.wordpress.com

Thanks,
Sarah Courchesne
suzsull26-Nov-2013 15:03
Ya I know the "reasons". There is never a good enough or important enough reason to be inhuman. The skin grows around the screw, can cause infection/pain and ultimately death, a slow death. This is one reason why this method is not used to id domestic birds/chickens etc. You can try to justify cruelty but you just can't, there are other ways. It is selfish.
Beth Milke 25-Nov-2013 18:37
I understand your concerns about this individual gull. However, there are important reasons for tagging gulls on reservoirs and lakes that provide water for human consumption. --Beth Milke
Beth Milke 25-Nov-2013 18:37
I understand your concerns about this individual gull. However, there are important reasons for tagging gulls on reservoirs and lakes that provide water for human consumption. --Beth Milke
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