Page 4 - National Poultry Newspaper

Philosophically speaking
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THIS month, let’s get philosophical.
About our feathered friends, that is.
While it may seem odd that an industry pub- lication about poultry would cover anything
beyond the pragmatic, perhaps excepting de- bate about such ethical and topical questions as whether we should even eat chicken or eggs, or whether hens are as happy in cages as they are free ranging, let’s give it a go.
The reason for my di- gression is I discovered and bought an amazing book, titled A short phi- losophy of birds, at the 2020 Perth Festival’s Literature and Ideas Weekend.
don’t we bathe with the same sense of purpose? Dogged as we are by duties and commit- ments, we rarely find a moment to experience true delight in the act of cleansing ourselves. The hen doesn’t wash if she is stressed. She doesn’t take her usual jubilant bath. But we still wash even if we’re worried or tense, so how can we manage to savour the moment, as the hen does?”
Another chapter, ‘How to be free, Open- ing the cage’, verges on the problematic and the pragmatic when phi- losophising over how a caged hen reacts when freed.
“The poor animal, hitherto confined in a cage so small she could hardly turn around, is stunned by her free- dom. She starts by exploring only a few square metres around her. She will spend weeks gradually ven- turing further before she finally regains the liberty to move around as she wishes.”
The authors argue that it would still be wrong to claim that some birds
prefer to live in cag- es: “When birds have become conditioned to living in captivity, too much freedom all at once frightens them. They fear for their safety and are afraid to explore a new environ- ment.”
Having said that, the authors go on and ask the question “Do we not feel the same some- times? What if we were to take a child or even an adult, who had only ever lived in a high- rise block of flats and released them into the forest? Wouldn’t they come running back, begging to be taken home?”
They conclude the chapter by proposing the best way of keep- ing or protecting some- one is surely to make their nest welcoming so they’ll want to come back to it.
I’ll give Phillippe and Elise the final word: “Perhaps that’s what we need: a harmonious balance, blending the advantages of domes- ticity and liberty.”
Sounds very liberat- ing and very free range to me.
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Held in February at
the University of West-
ern Australia and pre-
viously known as the
Readers and Writers
Festival, it’s a treat for by those of us who love
diving into a good book on a cold winter’s day, or in this case, balmy summer’s day and then pondering what the book really means and what the authors are trying to say.
Anyway, this delight- ful little hardback, first published last year by WH Allen, part of Pen- guin Random House UK, was authored by French couple Phillippe Dubois (an ornitholo- gist) and Elise Rous- seau (a philosopher and journalist).
Cant Comment BRENDON CANT
Good combo, me- thinks!
In their introduction they philosophise over what lessons birds can teach us.
Interesting question and one which those who’ve not read the book might answer “nothing”.
Having now read this charming, challenging little book and spent a lifetime with birds, both observing in the wild and keeping and breeding all sorts, from cockatoos to parrots, eagles to hawks, pheas- ants to quail, chooks to ducks and pigeons to doves, to name but a few, I can’t possibly outline all the philo- sophical thoughts of the authors, but merely offer some crumbs.
So, here we go on a quick flight around the philosophical question of what lessons birds can teach us and how they may guide us in many ways, helping us to reflect on our lives.
No surprise I’ll first take us to the chapter titled ‘Living life to the fullest, the philosophy of the bathing hen’.
“Seeing a hen take a dust bath gives us a sense of what one of the greatest pleasures in the world can be. The hen’s bath should give us pause for thought. Why
Contact Brendon Cant
M 0417 930 536 E brendon@iinet.net.au
A laid back, philosophical columnist contemplates the lives of our feathered friends in the restful grounds of The University of Western Australia.
Page 4 – National Poultry Newspaper, March 2020
www.poultrynews.com.au
Not everything is simply black and white. The columnist balanced the books with these two buys. Enigmatic indigenous actor David Gulpilil, 66 years old and battling lung cancer, is today confined to a small home in Murray Bridge, South Australia. He longs to once again range free in his homeland, Ramingining, Arnhem Land.