I thought on occasion I would talk about one of the Raptors I have gotten to know over there and share their tale.
So, today I have chosen Quincy the Snowy Owl.
Quincy is a female. I have chosen her first to blog about because her story sticks to my mind with some very sad visuals.
She was born in captivity and raised by humans. Where this happened would be the equivalent of a "puppy mill". I couldn't believe that such a place existed! In a small town far out of the GTA, there was a farm, and the people on that farm bred and raised birds of prey to be sold as exotic pets to those willing to pay the price.
Apparently this farm was more like a junk yard. Picture one of those creepy old dilapidated farm houses with nasty inbred looking people within. That is my visual, right out of one of my horror movies. These people had absolutely no regard for the birds they were raising and selling. I honestly feel that anybody who bought a bird from them has no regard either. Eagles, Hawks and Owls chained to the litter about the property (rusted cars, fence posts, etc). They were fed Canada Geese that the people went out and shot themselves. So, this sucked for the Geese of the area as well; but even more so for the birds who ate them. Why? Well, the bullets remained within the Geese, which were then devoured by the raptors, and thus were slowly poisoning them with lead. Many carcasses of the Geese lay rotting about the property as well.
I don't know how many raptors were on site at the time of the arrests. I don't know how many had to be put down due to illness.
Quincy was one of the lucky ones to make it out of there alive. Since she was captive bred and hand raised, she can never be released as she knows nothing on how to fend for herself in the wild. She does have a great home with amazing people who care for her at Mountsberg.
If you ever make it out to Mountsberg, please stop and give a moment to Quincy. She is the only female Snowy Owl at the centre so you can't miss her.
2 comments:
A sad, but very interesting story. I think all centers for raptors should have short bios of their birds so that it is clear why each bird is there.
I didn't know there were puppy mills for owls :(
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