CANADA: It might be all in the name of science, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t controversy. A scientist discovered a rare bird that hadn’t been seen in over a century, and then killed it for a museum collection.
The bird, in this case, is called the Moustached Kingfisher. With its brilliant blue, white and orange feathers, it certainly stands out in a photograph.
“Described by a single female specimen in the 1920s, two more females brought to collectors by local hunters in the early 1950s, and only glimpsed in the wild once,” wrote Christopher Filardi of the American Museum of Natural History. “Scientists have never observed a male. Its voice and habits are poorly known. Given its history of eluding detection, realistic hopes of finding the bird were slim.”
That’s exactly what Filardi managed to do, though. He set nets on the island of Guadalcanal and managed to captured a male bird with an all-blue back and an orange face. Once captured, though, Filardi then killed the bird for further study.
While “collecting” birds is a usual scientific practice, outrage ensued.
“To search for and find an animal of a rare species-an individual with feelings, interests, a home, and perhaps a mate-only to kill him is perverse, cruel, and the sort of act that has led to the extinction of other animals who were also viewed as ‘specimens,'” said Colleen O’Brien, PETA Senior Director, in an interview with the NY Daily News. “All that was needed to document this rare bird was compassion, awe, and a camera, not disregard and a death warrant.”
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