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I..............have witnessed something,

Today, I was walking to my lady friends house, I saw a cute magpie.(a type of bird) Then, I heard a shotgun go off, the
magpie tumbled off the roof and fell to the ground. I could see blood around the magpie. Then, a man came to get it.
I thought it was dead, but when he grabbed it it strugled and blood poured out. He said "Its for the cat"
I couldnt bear to watch, I just ran away. I spoke to my stepdad, he said that shooting birds down like that is illegal.
I am anoyed, disgusted and upset about what has happened.
Even though I witnessed the crime, stepdad says that there is not enough evidence to take this to court.
 
Wow... thats sick!

Anyway, magpies are pretty big for a cat, in my opinion
confused.gif


/Quensel
 
I just notice the signature: Another Monty Python fan! Yay!
 
where do you live at? magpies are pretty friggin big and mainly a northern us bird. are you sure it wasn't a mocking bird?
 
I hate birds, But I hate cats even more, Thats pretty sad for a bird to be shot and fed to a cat.
 
I live in the U.K. (The U.K thats in Europe)
 
yeah, that isn't right. I would think people would think a bit more. it puts out a bad name for gun owners/hunting folk as well. how is the wx in the uk?
 
i hope the magpie had a disese or somthing so the man can pay with vet bills or he'll have to buy a new cat "!"
 
Ug i hate cats. (so says the one who plays with the kittens at the animal shelter during his break)

Words cannot express my discust for people who do that.
 
  • #10
Whoever shoots deserves to be shot.
 
  • #11
magpies pretty birds but extreamly nasty. ask any older rancher in the western US they dispise these birds and shoot them on site. my grandfather sat and watched one pick out the eyes on a new born calf so that it would die. i realize that its part of nature BUT i shoot the birds on site and dont think twice about it. if he was feeding it to his cat i see no difference in me shooting a pheasent or a duck to roast for my table. it doesnt sound to me like it was a waste.

Rattler
 
  • #12
Hmm, but here, magpies would not harm a soul.
And its also illegal here.
 
  • #13
if its illegal its illegal. also i realize your "magpie" and mine may be two different species. i still maintain however if he was shooting it for his cat i have no problems ethicly with what he did.

Rattler
 
  • #14
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]my grandfather sat and watched one pick out the eyes on a new born calf so that it would die


This has been sientificly proven trough reserch to be a myth, as ravens and crows also do the same thing., and have been the targets of proposals to eliminate these species.

Magpies and crows only feed on carrion and small animals. There is no pysical way they can kill a healthy calf. Since these animals feed on carrion, they will feed on dead calfs. Their beaks cannot penetrate cow hide so they will pick out the eyes, and wait untill decay softens the skin enough so that they can feed. In Most reported cases of magpies killng calfs later examinations by athoritys (if called), the calfs were ether stillborn or extremely sick and weak.

However, in defence of your grandfather, Its not difficult, when you see a magpie eating a calfs eye, to conclude that that was the cause of death.

Thats why people beleive they do it. the birds are misunderstood because most people dont know anything about their biology and behavior.
 
  • #15
I know the crows here frequently chase birds of any kind and tear the eyes out. I've seen it a few times. I don't personally see the problem except if your in city shooting at a bird. Besides being illegal it could be dangerous. Ethically if the bird is used for something, why not?

Joe
 
  • #16
ok let me refraise it he WATCHED a magpie pick out the eyes of a STILL LIVE calf, weither or not it was healthy i do not remember him saying but he stressed the fact it was still alive. the man has been in the ranching buiseness all his life and has never lied to me, why would he on such a trivial piece of knowlege? he doesnt hate vultures or ravens which would be present at a dead animal so why would he have so much hate twords another carrion eater if it wasnt for the fact that the calf was still alive when it was pecking out its eyes?

Rattler
 
  • #17
its possible , i guess, that a magpie could be impatient and go at a calf before its dead, but it certainly cant be normal. ANd there certainly not sinister.

In mot doubting that yor grandpaw saw what he saw but...
never mind. Is that why you shoot them?
 
  • #18
i shoot them when i can, different ranchers have asked me too when im on their land. however, like crows, the lil twerps are quite smart and do know what a gun is. most when they see a gun wont get within 300 yards of you if they have been shot at before. in all reality i maybe shoot 2 or 3 a year out of the 100 or more i see b/c they have been shot at before and take off at the site of a gun. if i am out walking and dont have a gun i can usually get with in 10 feet or so of them.

Rattler
 
  • #19
Rattler, I understand what you're saying, but I really think what the man did was wrong. If he had the common sense and compassion that he seems to have for his cat, he'd learn how to be a better shot so he might actually kill the magpie instantly instead of making it suffer. And cripes, why does the cat need a bird?! The dude has enough money for a gun. Seems like he should have enough money for cat food. That bird was not for his cat.

I don't care what you're used to or how you feel towards birds, what he did was cruel and unnecessary.
 
  • #20
how i feel twords birds? i have 10 pet ducks and 3 pet geese. i love birds of prey and shrikes, i really love shrikes. however i do love roasted pheasent and chicken too. and who says it wasnt for the cat? my grandma would have my grandfather shoot a deer and do a rough butchering of it and feed it to her barn cats over the winter. plus who said he bought the gun? maybe it was his fathers and he gave it to him a box of cheap shotgun shells can be as lil as $5 here, less if you reload. or maybe he is like me and hates this one type of particular bird and decided to give his cat a treat. if the guy was shooting in city limits than fine i do have a problem with that but as to killing a bird that has never been nor prolly never will be close to extinction......i have no problems. as to killing it with the first shot, i agree but yah no what? even the most carefull hunter will have something go wrong once in awhile. something spooks the bird just as your pulling the trigger and it moves in the split second it takes the firing pin to hit the primer and the powder to burn. it happens and cant be totally prevented.

Rattler
 
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