Pinioning is the act of surgically removing one pinion joint, the joint of a bird's wing farthest from the body, to prevent flight. Pinioning is often done to waterfowl and poultry. It is not typically done to companion bird species such as parrots. This practice is unnecessary and restricted in many countries.
Removing the pinion joint of a bird stops the growth of the primary feathers, preventing the acceleration required for flight [1] and is analogous to amputating a human hand at the wrist. [2] Pinioning may be done by a veterinarian or by a trained breeder, depending on the country in which the keeper is operating. For example, it is illegal for anyone other than a veterinarian to carry out the procedure in the United Kingdom. It is similar to other forms of modification and surgical procedures of domestically raised animals, such as docking the tail of a dog and declawing on a cat.
Apart from the prevention of flight, there is commonly thought to be little long term negative effect from pinioning if performed correctly and at a young age. [3] However, the animal welfare impact of pinioning is subject to increasing debate. For example, it is now known that the operation, which is often performed without pain relief, is just as painful in young birds as in mature birds, if not more so. [1] Evidence also suggests that pinioning may cause a phantom limb syndrome similar to what is observed in human amputees. [1] For these reasons this practice has been prohibited in certain regions and is subject to increasing scrutiny.
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A non-surgical alternative is clipping the flight feathers. This only lasts until feathers are replaced during the moult; however, the flight feathers are only replaced once or twice a year, depending on the species. The process of capturing and clipping can cause considerable distress to birds.
Permanent enclosures designed to prevent accidental egress (escape) of birds remove the need for pinioning.
Keeping birds who through natural adaptation or selective breeding have lost the ability to fly removes the need for pinioning; for example, keeping Indian runner ducks as opposed to wild-type mallard ducks.
Pinioning is legally restricted in many countries. In England, if the bird is more than 10 days old its pinioning may only be performed using anaesthetic and, regardless of the bird's age, the procedure is illegal unless performed by a veterinarian. It is also illegal to perform on farmed birds. [4] In Austria pinioning is prohibited based on §5 (Prohibition of cruelty to animals) and §7 (Prohibited interventions performed on animals) of the Animal Protection Act. [5]
Poultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of harvesting animal products such as meat, eggs or feathers. The practice of raising poultry is known as poultry farming. These birds are most typically members of the superorder Galloanserae (fowl), especially the order Galliformes. The term also includes waterfowls of the family Anatidae but does not include wild birds hunted for food known as game or quarry.
Beak trimming, or beak conditioning, is the partial removal of the beak of poultry, especially layer hens and turkeys, although it is also be performed on some quail and ducks. When multiple birds are confined in small spaces due to farming practices, they are more likely to hurt each other through pecking. Beak trimming aims to avoid damage done by pecking, although the practice is criticized by animal welfare organizations and banned in several European countries. Beak trimming is most common in egg-laying strains of chickens. In some countries, such as the United States, turkeys routinely have their beaks trimmed. In the UK, only 10% of turkeys are beak trimmed.
Wing clipping is the process of trimming a bird's primary wing feathers or remiges so that it is not fully flight-capable, until it moults, sheds the cut feathers and grows new ones.
Exsanguination is the loss of blood from the circulatory system of a vertebrate, usually leading to death. The word comes from the Latin 'sanguis', meaning blood, and the prefix 'ex-', meaning 'out of'.
Docking is the removal of portions of an animal's tail. While docking and bobbing are more commonly used to refer to removal of the tail, the term cropping is used in reference to the ears. Tail docking occurs in one of two ways. The first involves constricting the blood supply to the tail with a rubber ligature for a few days until the tail falls off. The second involves the severance of the tail with surgical scissors or a scalpel. The length to which tails are docked varies by breed, and is often specified in the breed standard.
In Judaism, shechita is ritual slaughtering of certain mammals and birds for food according to kashrut. One who practices this, a kosher butcher is called a shochet.
Onychectomy, popularly known as declawing, is an operation to remove an animal's claws surgically by means of the amputation of all or part of the distal phalanges, or end bones, of the animal's toes. Because the claw develops from germinal tissue within the third phalanx, amputation of the bone is necessary to fully remove the claw. The terms onychectomy and declawing imply mere claw removal, but a more appropriate description would be phalangectomy, excision of toe bone.
Devocalization is a surgical procedure where tissue is removed from the vocal cords.
Veterinary surgery is surgery performed on non-human animals by veterinarians, whereby the procedures fall into three broad categories: orthopaedics, soft tissue surgery, and neurosurgery. Advanced surgical procedures such as joint replacement, fracture repair, stabilization of cranial cruciate ligament deficiency, oncologic (cancer) surgery, herniated disc treatment, complicated gastrointestinal or urogenital procedures, kidney transplant, skin grafts, complicated wound management, and minimally invasive procedures are performed by veterinary surgeons. Most general practice veterinarians perform routine surgeries such as neuters and minor mass excisions; some also perform additional procedures.
Wildlife rehabilitation is the process of caring for injured, sick, orphaned, or displaced wild animals with the goal of releasing them back into their natural habitat. It involves medical treatment, temporary housing, and specialized care for a variety of species, from birds and mammals to reptiles and amphibians. Wildlife rehabilitation combines veterinary science, wildlife conservation, and animal welfare to ensure that animals have the best chance for recovery and survival after facing challenges such as injury, disease, or human interference.
Pinion is a round gear, usually the smaller of two meshed gears.
Docking is the intentional removal of part of an animal's tail or, sometimes, ears. The term cropping is more commonly used in reference to the cropping of ears, while docking more commonly—but not exclusively—refers to the tail; the term tailing is used, also. The term has its origins in the living flesh of the tail, commonly known as the dock, from which the animal's tail hairs grow.
Venomoid surgery is a surgical procedure performed on venomous snakes to prevent them from producing venom. The procedure has been used for snakes kept as pets or used in public demonstrations in order to remove the risk of injury or death when handled, but is considered illegal and unethical. Most venomoid procedures consist of either removing the venom gland itself, or severing the duct between the gland and the fang. Removal of fangs is uncommon, as snakes frequently regenerate teeth, and the more invasive procedure of removing the underlying maxillary bone would be fatal. However, the duct and gland have been known to regenerate, and supposedly "safe" snakes have killed mice and successfully envenomated humans.
An exotic pet is a pet which is relatively rare or unusual to keep, or is generally thought of as a wild species rather than as a domesticated pet. The definition varies by culture, location, and over time—as animals become firmly enough established in the world of animal fancy, they may no longer be considered exotic.
Feather pecking is a behavioural problem that occurs most frequently amongst domestic hens reared for egg production, although it does occur in other poultry such as pheasants, turkeys, ducks, broiler chickens and is sometimes seen in farmed ostriches. Feather pecking occurs when one bird repeatedly pecks at the feathers of another. The levels of severity may be recognized as mild and severe. Gentle feather pecking is considered to be a normal investigatory behaviour where the feathers of the recipient are hardly disturbed and therefore does not represent a problem. In severe feather pecking, however, the feathers of the recipient are grasped, pulled at and sometimes removed. This is painful for the receiving bird and can lead to trauma of the skin or bleeding, which in turn can lead to cannibalism and death.
Abnormal behavior of birds in captivity has been found to occur among both domesticated and wild birds. Abnormal behavior can be defined in several ways. Statistically, 'abnormal' is when the occurrence, frequency or intensity of a behaviour varies statistically significantly, either more or less, from the normal value. This means that theoretically, almost any behaviour could become 'abnormal' in an individual. Less formally, 'abnormal' includes any activity judged to be outside the normal behaviour pattern for captive birds of that particular class or age. For example, running rather than flying may be a normal behaviour and regularly observed in one species, however, in another species it might be normal but becomes 'abnormal' if it reaches a high frequency, or in another species it is rarely observed and any incidence is considered 'abnormal'. This article does not include 'one-off' behaviours performed by individual birds that might be considered abnormal for that individual, unless these are performed repeatedly by other individuals in the species and are recognised as part of the ethogram of that species.
Cropping is the removal of part or all of the external flaps of an animal's ear. The procedure sometimes involves bracing and taping the remainder of the ears to train them to point upright. Almost exclusively performed on dogs, it is an old practice that was once done for perceived health, practical or cosmetic reasons. Veterinary science states there is no medical or physical advantage to the animal from the procedure, leading to concerns of animal cruelty over performing unnecessary surgery on animals. In modern times, cropping is banned in many nations, but is still legal in a limited number of countries. Where permitted, it is seen only in certain breeds of dog, such as pit bull and bull terrier type breeds, the Doberman Pinscher, Schnauzer, Great Dane, Boxer and Cane Corso.
Numerous procedures performed on domestic animals are usually more invasive than purely cosmetic alterations, but differ from types of veterinary surgery that are performed exclusively for health reasons. Such procedures have been grouped together under the technical term 'mutilatory' by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in a report describing the reasons for their being conducted and their welfare consequences, and by others.
Blinders, also known as peepers, are devices fitted to, or through, the beaks of poultry to block their forward vision and assist in the control of feather pecking, cannibalism and sometimes egg-eating. A patent for the devices was filed as early as 1935. They are used primarily for game birds, pheasant and quail, but also for turkeys and laying hens. Blinders are opaque and prevent forward vision, unlike similar devices called spectacles which have transparent lenses. Blinders work by reducing the accuracy of pecking at the feathers or body of another bird, rather than spectacles which have coloured lenses and allow the bird to see forwards but alter the perceived colour, particularly of blood. Blinders are held in position with a circlip arrangement or lugs into the nares of the bird, or a pin which pierces through the nasal septum. They can be made of metal (aluminium), neoprene or plastic, and are often brightly coloured making it easy to identify birds which have lost the device. Some versions have a hole in the centre of each of the blinders, thereby allowing restricted forward vision.
The Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital (ADFH) is the first public medical institution exclusively for falcons in the United Arab Emirates. Established by Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi and opened on 3 October 1999, Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital has become the largest falcon hospital in the UAE and in the world with a patient influx of approximately 11,000 falcons per year. The ADFH describes their mission as a goal "To protect, conserve, research, and promote captive-bred and wild falcons health, wildlife, and falconry tradition. To lead efforts of Abu Dhabi government to improve and protect animal welfare and to increase awareness and responsibility of people for animal welfare as the leading center for animal healthcare and welfare in Abu Dhabi Emirate."