Michael wrote:Andromeda wrote:I don't think it's nitpicking to say breaking a dog's legs is not the equivalent of clipping a bird's wings. The equivalent would be breaking the bird's wings. However, equating wing clipping to tying a dog's legs together 24/7 is a good comparison and I agree that both should be equally outrageous and offensive to any humane individual.
I'm talking about the psychological, practical, and outcome aspects rather than the physical application. A parrot with clipped wings is like a dog with broken wings, not a dog that got a fur trim.
I never implied that wing clipping was like a fur trim.
In my opinion even psychologically and practically the outcome of clipping is not akin to a dog with broken legs; broken legs are useless and the dog couldn't even stand, let alone walk. Likewise, broken wings would be useless and the bird couldn't even glide. However, a dog with legs bound 24/7 could hobble around just as a bird with clipped wings has the ability to "hobble" around in the air in that it can glide to the ground or even fly a short distance without gaining height depending on the clip or size of the bird.
In all honestly the psychological impact of clipping a bird has no equivalent in another species. Every single part of a bird evolved to support flight: skeletal structure, respiratory, muscular, and digestive systems, etc. and depriving a bird of doing the one thing its entire body and mind were designed to do has no comparison. It's psychologically devastating and some birds never recover from a clip. I know because I have one.
I don't know how I feel about clipping being made illegal. I just don't want it to happen anymore. I don't want breeders and pet stores to clip, I don't want owners to clip, and most of all I don't want vets to promote or support clipping.