[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sia,—It is truly said
that a " Temperance Meeting " contains nobody but total abstainers. Similarly, " The Cage Bird Cult," by Hamish Maclaren, will only be read by educated people of his way of thinking, who have generally no time or inclination to go into the matter further.
I can claim a very intimate knowledge of Cage Bird Culture extending over a long period ; but during this time I have come to realize that this hobby of bird keeping entails a long list of cruelties. The only bird that escapes is the canary, which by years and years of breeding under caged conditions has become happy in confinement and unhappy in liberty.
This caging habit is a human instinct centuries old. No doubt Solomon's halls caught additional colour from gorgeous parrakeets, and Chinese mandarins contemplated Confucius whilst Pekin robins sang to them within that bamboo prisons : but unfortunately the " cult " has got beyond the realms of decoration and song. It has become a business ; and, as always happens, the suffering caused ri.es as the profits. To make the situation Gilbertian, in mod cases the birds are protected by law. In addition, although Sir H. Brittain's Act has made it illegal to confine a bird in 3 cage which is not large enough to allow it to stretch its wings properly, even this miserable allowance is openly defied. Take one example. Goldfinches are displayed in a bird shop window, poor little half-moulted young ones, wild and terrified, confined by the smallness of the cage from anything but a continuous flutter. It is obvious they are fresh caught, it is obvious the shop-keeper has bought them from a lad bird-catcher, though the county has goldfinches on its ro• tected schedule. (" Protected," what a false wont- tected by printers' ink on paper, unused for prosecution, ignored by the police, unheard of by the public.) And all this for what reason ?
The answer is, because of the Cage Bird Shows, which hail their crowning culmination at the Crystal Palace. To obtain a prize-winner these bird-show men will buy Al pick of the bird-catchers' annual autumn collection ;
one outstanding bird may be got out of 200 ordinary speeim What happens to the remaining 199 ? They are graded (100 according to size and appearance ; 50 per cent. dying t dirt, overcrowding and inability tadigest hard seed. The 01' vivors are then passed on by advertisement, by contract sail big dealers and private sale. If you don't believe it, look this advertisement from the current number of a bird PaPer " Lincolnshire Red-breasted Linnets, 9s. a dozen ; G finches, 3s. a dozen ; Thrushes, 2s. each ; Blackbirds, 1s. each. All cocks." The gentleman advertising these 'ca blatantly calls himself .a bird-catcher. Does not Lincoln4 protect these birds ? . Presumably not, or our catcher ii:ou not advertise his law-breaking. But what happens If
catches a protected bird. Does he let it go because of the law ? He does not. He merely charges more because of the risk.
Another advertisement says :—" Hen Brown Linnets, 2s. a down ; 2d. each." Cheap, because the only man who can resell them must pass them off as cocks, a profitable but unstable business.
Here is another catcher who drives a fine coach and four through the inert Bird Protection Act :—" Fresh caught aviary birds, mixed, dozen 5s." Then this splendid wagon bears the words, " Continental Goldfinches," or again, "British Goldfinches. These grand Pear-tree cocks can be kept in any county in England, Scotland and Wales. Twelve 24s., Hens Twelve 15s." And here is a third :—" British Goldfinches, pick of hundreds, likely birds to make winners, 7s. 6d., 8s. 6d. and 10s. each." At the back of all this cruelty and gullibility is the hope of winning a prize in a Bird Show. In showing British birds, by the way, one of the greatest points is size. To try to hoodwink the judges many exhibi- tors put their birds in show cages extra small under the piti- fully stupid idea that the judge will then think the bird is big. This has now got to such a pitch that the show cage is.appallingly small. Another advantage of a small cage is that a wild, fresh-caught occupant feels it is hopeless to flutter in such tramped surroundings, and so remains steady—another winning point.
If a simple little act was passed saying : " No British birds may be caught or displayed for sale or show. Punishment, imprisonment without the option of a fine," the very source f revenue to bird-catchers would fail. There would be no oney in the game and the cruel cult would fade out.—I am,
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