Re:Researchers Taught Parrots to Video Call Other Parrots
by swalling on Saturday April 22, 2023 @12:23PM
(#35668150)
This is true, but an important question is also: does an animal in captivity have the ability to express its fundamental emotional/behavioral drives?
Temple Grandin’s book “Animals in Translation“ is the textbook here, and the short answer is that many species are totally incapable of normal, necessary behavioral expression when held captive. Many animals kept in captivity subsequently develop what are called “stereotypies”, which is a nicer sounding word for mental illness disorders. Parrots very often have this. There are good reasons why parrots are relatively uncommon pets. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14529811/
Re:Researchers Taught Parrots to Video Call Other Parrots
by yunohn on Saturday April 22, 2023 @12:20PM
(#35668110)
This is a fundamentally misguided take.
An equivalent comparison would be jailing all humans to keep them safe from each other. Humans having a home for occasional safety from environmental hazards is not the same as free-flying birds being caged in isolation forever.
They have to be on guard every single second because something might eat them. If they get injured, that is an absolute death sentence. There is no safety net. They have to weather harsh weather conditions. They are at risk for being eaten alive and enduring a slow agonizing painful death by other animals that do not care one iota about their well-being
At least in captivity they are safe. I don’t see how we as humans are all that different in how most of us choose to live our lives