Pure Ignorance
Dear Friends –
Something happened over the weekend that ripped my heart out and made me so mad that I was too angry to write about it until now. I have been rehabilitating wildlife for 56 years and the one thing that I can’t seem to get through to people is to NEVER leave an animal at my door or IN MY MAILBOX! If you care enough about the animal, care enough to place it in the hands of a person that can help.
This very thing happened this weekend while I was away for several days doing an educational wildlife program. A dear friend of mine who keeps an eye on things while I am away, was horrified when he reached into my metal mailbox and pulled out mail that was covered in maggots. As he looked further back into the mailbox he found a bird wrapped in a paper towel, DEAD.
The thought of someone placing A LIVING, BREATHING THING IN A METAL MAILBOX IN 80 AND 90 DEGREE WEATHER TO SLOWLY BAKE TO DEATH makes me absolutely sick to my stomach. It is bad enough that people leave live animals in boxes and other containers at my door, never knowing when I will return (and many times die before I find it) but to die in the mailbox like that is inexcusable. It is sheer ignorance. Sadly, this happens more times than you can imagine. How do you think it feels to come home to dead animals?
This year it has been the worse. Not only have people left animals at my door, and in this case my mailbox but I get people who will rescue an animal and instead of calling me or a rehabilitator right away, they decide to keep it for days until it is nearly dead and then they call me. The reasons vary: They didn’t have time, or it was so cute they wanted to play with it for a while, or they found information on the internet so they decided to raise it themselves, the excuses go on and on. They finally bring the animal to me when it’s nearly dead and I have to watch it die.
This type of ignorance is beyond cruel to the animal. Nature can be cruel and sadly death is part of it but when it’s caused by human ignorance, it’s just too hard to handle sometimes. PLEASE If you are going to rescue an animal, do it the right way. Don’t just dump it on a doorstep, mailbox or let it die a slow death because you cannot take the time to get it in the hands of a qualified person that can actually help the animal. In 90% of the cases, the animal would be best LEFT ALONE where there is a chance for the mother to take care of it.
Folks I love my wildlife work but dealing with ignorant people that cause harm to an animal and allow it to suffer is more than I can take sometimes and this weekend was one of those times.
PLEASE READ MY PLEA, use your head when it comes to helping an animal. If you find an orphan or injured wildlife, call a rehabilitator ASAP. If you cannot get a hold of me, go to the Ohio Division of Wildlife for what to do or where to take it. They have a list of rehabilitators all over the state that can. But NEVER, NEVER, NEVER leave an animal at the door or mailbox not knowing what time the person you’re leaving it for will be home.
– Fran Kitchen
Copyright 2019 Fran Kitchen
Operation Orphan Wildlife Rehabilitation, Inc. is a 501(c)3 Non-Profit Organization and does not receive federal funding. We are supported entirely through private donations, memberships, and proceeds from our education programs. To Donate visit our website at: operationorphanwildlife.com
