with lunch. This Owl was seen in an aviary. The owner had just given it a dead day old chick. The chicks are male chickens that are euthanised when they hatch as the chicken and egg industry don't have a use for male chicks. How sad is that, but on the upside it gives keepers of birds of prey , snakes, reptiles etc food that is already dead.
I don't approve of these birds being kept in aviaries but this owl was hand reared and has lived in the aviary for the past 25 years so it wouldn't survive if released. So sad. All birds should be free.
A most beautiful image, but, yes, a sad story. However, better to be the fodder for an owl than be thrown on the junk heap to rot. At least some purpose is served from your small life, little chicken. :-(
A beautiful shot. We tend to avoid thinking about what meat eating animals do to get food. At least in this case the chick would have had a relatively quick death, and its corpse served a useful purpose.
Ian