Caged wild birds in Phnom Penh (1 Viewer)

had a disturbing visit to a local market temple area here in the city, it seems that some Buddhists believe that if they release a wild bird it means they will become a better person.
this has led to a trade in wild birds -see photos- unfortunatley they are all crammed in cages and left in the heat of the sun.
tree sparrows- common here- , munias, weavers and mynas were all available.
some of the birds are captured up in the provinces- not sure to what extent this happens in the markets up country, but Ive seen reports of some of the globally threatened species being offered as meat in the markets.

how sad a bird has to be captured just so it can be set free again.

any birders in the rest of Asia witnessing the same thing?

cheers
Nigel





freethecagedbirds.blogspot.com

It's of course extremely regrettable that this particular practice continues, and in no way do I condone it.

But for the most part, Buddhism (probably more than any other religion or culture) places great importance on preventing harm to animals (even insects etc). Many aspects of the treatment of animals in the western world would be unacceptable to Buddhists.

Richard

Yes, quite a sickening spectacle.

I'm not religious, but from what I've read of Buddhism, cruelty wouldn't be condoned. However, there's little difference between condoning cruelty and turning a blind eye.

Unfortunately cramming birds into cages isn't new, it's also by no means the worst that happens to Birds and Mammals. There may come a time when Mankind respects all life, but sadly that time isn't now.

Bird markets in China aren't that much better - and agencies advertise them as tourist sites!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

china guy said:

Bird markets in China aren't that much better - and agencies advertise them as tourist sites!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Indeed, I didn't give specific examples of other such cruelty as it would be an extremely long post.

This is rife in Laos, often at tourist spots - the tourists think they're doing birds a favour by paying to let them out of cages, but many of them have already had it. In a lot of places in Laos, the only birds you see are in cages, or dead.

Richard Klim said:

But for the most part, Buddhism (probably more than any other religion or culture) places great importance on preventing harm to animals (even insects etc). Many aspects of the treatment of animals in the western world would be unacceptable to Buddhists.

Click to expand...

It hasn't much impact on the reality in countries with Buddhist influence though, at least in the ones I know (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand...). Here in Vietnam, respect to other creatures, eg. not eating them, seems basically limited to monks or really serious Buddhists, which are not many.

Also in Vietnam releasing birds (or fish into ponds) is popular and part of some rituals, not sure founded in what religion or belief. Trapping birds for pets or food is also very common. You could make a big species list on one of the markets in Hanoi or Saigon...

In Hong Kong the bird market is considered a tourist attraction.

A few years ago there was a spate of H5N1 bird flu records in the area but because all were of free-flying birds these were considered by the government to relate to 'wild birds' (despite some cases relating to species for which there was no suitable habitat nearby!). It was surely not coincidence that many of these cases were at a nearby Buddhist temple.

Personally, I don't see the good karma in encouraging birds to be trapped, crammed into small cages and shipped over long distances so that they can be released into an area that they are unlikely to survive. I've also seen pictures of freshwater fish and terrapins being released into the sea for similar reasons.

In Vietnam, a few years ago during the peak of bird flu, the Vietnamese authorities cracked down on the bird shops and went through the cities to cull all the caged birds and chickens (most owners released the birds then). That was quite effective to stop the trapping and trafficking of wild birds for a while, but by now bird shops are again everywhere and every second household has some caged wild birds.

Richard Klim said:

But for the most part, Buddhism (probably more than any other religion or culture) places great importance on preventing harm to animals (even insects etc). Many aspects of the treatment of animals in the western world would be unacceptable to Buddhists.

Click to expand...

dalat said:

It hasn't much impact on the reality in countries with Buddhist influence though, at least in the ones I know (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand...). Here in Vietnam, respect to other creatures, eg. not eating them, seems basically limited to monks or really serious Buddhists, which are not many.

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I admit that I have only limited experience of SE Asia. But in strongly Buddhist Bhutan, I was hugely impressed by the level of concern for the environment and wildlife in such a relatively poor nation.

Richard

Richard Klim said:

I admit that I have only limited experience of SE Asia. But in strongly Buddhist Bhutan, I was hugely impressed by the level of concern for the environment and wildlife in such a relatively poor nation.

Richard

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This may be of interest, scroll down to Attitude towards Animal and Plant Life.

From reading, it appears that the Monks have a stricter code than "laymen", but respect for all life seems to be a common belief. Then again, I would imagine that some people would be stricter than others.

Incidentally, I believe in not believing.|=)|

Richard Klim said:

I was hugely impressed by the level of concern for the environment and wildlife in such a relatively poor nation.

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Interesting what you say about Bhutan, did not know that. Seems really to be a very special place, one I wish I'll visit some day.

In Vietnam, Buddhism is just one of the influences among many other religions (such as Confucianism, ancestry worshipping, Taoism, animisms, Communism etc.) that make up peoples traditions and beliefs. In other SE-Asian countries, the influence of Buddhism is a bit stronger, but certainly not up to having the impact on people's respect of nature or creature that you describe for Bhutan.

This type of pictures, a very common sight in Vietnam, illustrate well people's attitude towards animal life:
http://www.mccullagh.org/photo/vietnam/chickens-on-motorbike
http://www.mccullagh.org/photo/vietnam/pigs-transported-on-motorbike

Florian

Releasing birds is done in the US too. I attended a funeral that was delayed because the man with the doves was caught in traffic. Not Asian immigrants, long-time southern Baptists.

But in strongly Buddhist Bhutan, I was hugely impressed by the level of concern for the environment

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Bhutan is exceptional; I guess it has to do both with a different culture and a King who promoted protecting the environment.

In Vietnam and Cambodia it is a free-for-all where anything goes as long as money can be made; laws or traditions be damned.

I have a Pagoda opposite the hotel I work in and it is the same thing: lots of caged birds for release. The birds are usually in such a bad state that they die soon after being released; this is particularly true for all the Warblers currently on offer (migration).

Incidentally, to call Vietnamese Buddhist is only true on paper. Most Vietnamese will only be Buddhist when it suits them, i.e. they go to the Pagoda to pray for money/success/exam results/children; there is little Buddhist mentally present in everyday life.

Hi Russkie,

I've seen in your local patch thread, that you've decided to do something about it: http://freethecagedbirds.blogspot.com/

I really appreciate your initiative, because I understand very much how depressing is this sight of caged wild birds everywhere.

However, as I am not totally sure that what you want to do about it is the most effective way, so just a few considerations from my side:

Firstly, as you write yourself, by buying and releasing caged birds, while certainly freeing some birds temporarily from the suffering in the cages, you also contribute to the market and in some way also cause more birds being trapped and sold.

You write you want to concentrate on the birds that are sold to be released for religious reasons, and there on the rarer birds. As far as i have seen, birds that are sold for release or food are usually "cheap" birds, means common birds that can be trapped easily in large numbers, such as munias or sparrows. I do not think that rare birds are actually sold cheaply for this purpose. Rarer birds are more likely to be found in the local or international trade for pets and they tend to be quite more expensive. For example a Blue-winged Pitta in a bird shop in Dalat last year costed more than 100$ (they said it's a Kingfisher trained to eat mealworms). This to say that I don't think for a few $ you will be able to release lots of rare birds...

Probably the best way to do something personally is to support local organisations that work for awarenesses raising, that help authorities to detect cases where local trafficking laws are violated, or that take care of confiscated animals. However be aware that mostly those efforts today target animals with higher conservation priority (large cats, bears, gibbons, langurs, pangolins, etc.) than small birds...

Meeting up with people that work for organisations like this http://www.accb-cambodia.org/en/index.php may give you ideas what to do...

Whatever way you choose, I wish you a lot of success!
Florian

thanks for the advice Florian
I will get in touch with you sometime for a pm

Nigel

And many birds never get released. I have personally seen Northern Cardinals, Blue Jays, Painted Buntings and others in cages right here in the good old USA. Again, not Asian families either! Each time I see it the county game warden gets a call.