State agents seize pet wild bird (from woman who had saved it four years earlier)

[The Straight Story]

State agents seize pet wild bird

The Pennsylvania Game Commission on Thursday morning seized a pet bird from an Elizabethtown woman who had saved it four years earlier after it fell from a nest in her yard.

Taking the house finch from the wild and making it a pet violates a state law as well a federal law that protects migratory birds, the Game Commission said.

When a story, titled "The miracle bird," on how the bird's rescue had changed the woman's life was featured this week in a story in the Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era, the agency was forced to act, said Jerry Feaser, Game Commission spokesman.

The Game Commission obtained a search warrant, and a wildlife conservation officer, accompanied by an Elizabethtown Borough policeman, showed up unannounced at the home of Pati Mattrick around 9 a.m.

The bird was taken to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, where it will be determined if the bird can be conditioned to survive in the wild and released, if possible, Feaser said.

Mattrick was issued a warning but was not cited with any violations, Feaser said. She could have been fined from $75 to $200 under the state law violation.

"You may not be in possession of an animal from the wild, period. It was an illegal act, and the animal had to be removed," he said.

http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/255174

[Liberal_in_LA]

1. wow

[joeybee12]

2. Um, the bird's probably not all that wild after 4 years indoors...

...and even someone with a peabrain should know right off that the bird would not survive in the wild after all that time. Nice going.

[cyberswede]

11. Actually...that's exactly why it's illegal to keep wild birds as pets.

She should have turned it in to the nearest agency that rescues wild birds (as the article mentions).

[WeDidIt]

3. No good deed goes unpunished

My wife is always caring for any animals. If there's a sick bird I can guarantee she'll bring it in to care for it.

I'll just make sure she understands not to say a word to anybody if she does.

[realisticphish]

4. so... what the hell kind of bird is it?

just curious, but it's only listed as a "wild bird."

Sparrow? Blue Jay? Bald Eagle? California Condor?

[Tansy_Gold]

5. House finch

[qnr]

8. I didn't read the article, but the OP says 'house finch' n/t

[mikelgb]

10. the very common house finch

http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/105/overview/House_Finch.aspx

[wryter2000]

14. Sweet little birds

Honestly, they're everywhere. I don't see why the state/county/whatever it was felt the need to "protect" that one individual bird.

[villager]

6. they enforce these kinds of half-assed laws, but do nothing to corporations

...who ransack the environment, destroy habitat for countless "animals from the wild, period," etc.

Kind of like how ticketing has nothing to do with traffic safety anymore...

[cyberswede]

15. Laws like this are intended to PROTECT wild birds.

In this case, the bird was small and managed to fly around the house without huring itself, so it probably wasn't in any danger. When people adopt wild raptors (owls, for instance), the imprint on human behavior, become incapable of surviving in the wild, and can injure themselves flying around their "owner's" house or yard.

She should have contacted the nearest wildlife rescue/rehab center instead of keeping it.
http://www.wildlifeinternational.org/EN/public/emergency/emergencyrehab.html

[villager]

19. It was in her backyard, she's had it for four years...

...and it's not a condor.

And you're speaking for someone who's been to protests to keep Condors in the wild.

I think we can look at the extenuating circumstances here. My point, however, was that a law like this is haphazardly enforced to protect one individual of one (non-endangered) species, who may -- or may not -- be better off in the wild, at this point.

Nothing is done, however, to protect habitat, where many species -- and many many individuals -- dwell in the wild.

[mikelgb]

7. uhm omg I was just watching a group of house finches eating the seed on my deck

I found an abandoned juv. house sparrow awhile back and I scooped into a box and did the best I could to try and feed it, it even opened for me once. I would have called animal control but it was Sunday. Sadly the poor little thing did not make it through the night.

[Liberal_in_LA]

13. we'd try to savw the injured ones when i was a kid. never worked

[Downtown Hound]

9. Remember when they tried to Free Willy for real?

The poor whale spent the rest of his days in the ocean looking for people to be around, no doubt wondering why they had abandoned him in the big, scary ocean.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

12. I am raising a starling right now --

It was a nestling thrown out of its nest almost a month ago and I rescued it from certain death by neighborhood cat.

Thankfully it is a non-native, invasive species that is considered a pest, so it is not covered by these laws.

You have to be specially permitted to work with native birds in the US. I feel so very sorry for that woman -- I know she mest have bonded with that bird, and the bird with her. :(

[MineralMan]

16. Starlings can talk.

Seriously. If you keep it, repeat the same simple phrase over and over again to it. If you're lucky, it'll repeat it at some point. I've never done it, but a friend of mine did.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

18. They are related to --

the minah bird. :) I have been doing a lot of reading on them -- very very smart, talkative, and demanding. I was hoping to be able to release it, but, from what I am reading, it may be unreleasable. So it looks like I may have a new mouth to feed at home.

He/she is adorable but, damn, all the poop is killing me.....

[Toucano]

21. You intend to hold it captive after its been rehabilitated?

If so, that's not right.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

22. Not so simple.

My sister rehabs and I am aware that there are incredible hurdles to overcome when it comes to release. Because the bird was raised alone without it's siblings, it does not know how to behave around other birds. It also does not know the starling "language", nor has it been taught how to hunt in the wild for it's own food.

I am doing everything I can to familiarize the bird with it's natural behavior/world, but, at the end of the day, I may have a bird that is not 100% releaseable. I know of starlings that are free to come and go as they please from their rehab location, though they often choose to stay around for food and company -- that may be the best this little guy can manage.

I am going to carefully evalute him as he matures and explore all his options. What I will not do is just dump him outside if I am not confident he can survive and thrive on his own.

[MineralMan]

17. I've never raised a house finch, but I've tamed a lot of wild ones to

come and eat seeds from the palm of my hand. They're pretty fearless little birds once you get to know them.

[Toucano]

20. Wild means wild.

No amount of do-good intention will change that.

If one truly cares about wild things, then one doesn't put them in cages.