Why have wings if you can’t fly?

One thing that bugged me when I stayed at the Hyatt Regency in Hawaii the other week (I stayed at the awesome Aqua Waikiki Wave hotel the first night – a cheaper but, in my opinion, way better hotel. The event I went over for was in the Hyatt Regency, though – so had to switch on the 10th), was the fact that there were parrots in cages dotted around the hotel. As soon as I saw them I felt sad. As if being in a tiny cage isn’t bad enough, being there just to be gawped at by tourists on a daily basis must be awful. Obviously this ties in well with Tilly, the whale that attacked the trainer at SeaWorld last week. Animals in captivity is WRONG. W.R.O.N.G. Would a human seriously like to be kept in a small confined space day in, day out, just for the entertainment of onlookers, not able to really move, only in a small circle?

I felt so sorry for the parrot I had to pass each day on my way out from my hotel room. I tried to walk past quickly and not look at him/her so as not to be bummed out for the rest of the day. In hindsight, I wonder if the parrot would have liked me to go and talk to him, and spend time by the cage, so as not to have been just another faceless human walking past while he’s stuck there and can’t go anywhere. The worst thing is knowing he has some amazing wings, given to him for flying – and he can’t use them. What is the point? The epitome of cruelty. The only thing I felt a slight hope for was the fact that at night he wasn’t there. I hoped he’d be taken to a more spacious area, to stretch, get exercise, get some sort of release. But who knows. He may have gone to an equally small setting.

I don’t understand why a hotel ‘needs’ parrots in cages. We go to hotels to sleep. We book hotels just to rest our heads at night. Not to look at birds in cages. Some of these big hotels need to sit and think, re-evaluate their purpose. Maybe I’ll send an email to the Hyatt Regency and ask them if they can look into not using animals. Politely of course.

Regarding Tilly the whale, I like this article on CNN’s website: http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/02/26/velez.mitchell.killer.whale/index.html

I’ve joined the Free Tilly facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Free-Tilly/331171433047?ref=mf – and I’ve filled in the form on PETA’s website asking for animals to be released into sanctuaries which give them the space they deserve. I wish they would be.

One of the highlights of my trip to Hawaii was actually coming unexpectedly across a seal sleeping on a beach. My friend and I drove to the scenic beach to check it out, take photos… and couldn’t believe it when we set eyes upon a monk seal lying near the water, sleeping. The best thing was that hardly anyone was there. The beach was very quiet, almost empty. It was bliss. There were tapes and signs to let you know the seal was sleeping and not to disturb him. I took a few pix with my camera. I could have sat and watched her (I was told it was a pregnant seal) for hours, just sleeping. She was so free, so at peace, so beautiful.

The best thing in life is freedom. Seeing animals in their own free environment is amazing. Stumbling across a free seal on an empty beach was 10 million times better than a caged bird in a hotel. Hyatt Regency, listen and learn.