The Treatment of Animals in India 



earlier observers I have read, the birds were 

 treated even worse than at present. The most 

 practicable remedy would certainly be the pro- 

 hibition of the sale of living game, except quails, 

 which do well even in close captivity. 



The disgraceful practice of sewing up the eyes 

 of birds to keep them quiet seems to be on the 

 decline — at any rate I saw few cases of it ; and 

 the large birds (storks, cranes, &c.) brought 

 down for sale to be kept alive were in my time 

 hooded with little cloth bonnets. 



And now a word as to the brighter aspect of 

 the relations of man and animals. The indis- 

 position of the Indian native to wanton cruelty 

 has its effect in the remarkable tameness of the 

 various creatures. Even the too often ill-treated 

 domestic animals are as tame or tamer than in 

 England, while the confidence of the wild things, 

 and their abundance both in species and indi- 

 viduals, is a perfect revelation when one comes 

 out to the East. The crow, kite, and sparrow 

 are indeed rather too tame ; the thefts of the 

 former two are annoying at times, though they 

 have their amusing side ; and the habit of the 

 last of frequenting one's meal-table cannot be 

 regarded as one to be encouraged in a country 

 where infectious disease is so common. It is not 

 to be desired that a sparrow, which has just come 



from a gutter outside a native hut where they 



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