Horrendous animal abuse dilemma

OMG, I've lived in a few countries. When you move around you learn that different cultures have different standards and that many people have never been taught to understand.......

Like Malta. When I lived in (gorgeous place) Malta, lots of people kept songbirds in cages. This was the early 90s so things may have changed by now. But you know what I mean.

A robin redbreast in a cage
Puts all heaven in a rage

(William Blake.)

But at the moment I am in the Guyanas. We were having lunch with the neighbours yesterday and all celebrating that we had a couple of pairs of golden songbirds nesting in the trees opposite our houses.

Not so today.

Just 24 hours later, our songbird nests had been nicked!

There were a couple of workmen who passed by and, presumably, spotted them as something they could sell at the market.

They took the whole nest! The mother was totally distressed, of COURSE. She was sitting on the cage trying to work out why her BABIES were in it. One of them had a broken wing. It was a terrible sight.

We were gutted.

We were sick.

We know the workmen to nod a polite good morning to. We know that they are paid about 20 dollars for a day of hard graft in the sun (they are not yet connected enough to market Steemit to them). We know that the IMF has just f***ed this country so people - literally - cannot afford to feed their children. We know that it is part of the culture here to keep beautiful songbirds as pets in cages.

So we did not intervene. For political reasons. Also, the NEST was f***ed. What were the parents supposed to do? Negotiate a relocation settlement?!

What we ARE doing is contacting the people who own the land we are living on and run the housing association. My husband has an appointment to see the boss next week and he is going to put his foot down and make sure that this does not happen again.

But I feel GUTTED.

And I KNOW my lovely (local - so not everybody is ignorant like these workmen) neighbours will be sick as pigs (sorry pigs - you are just such a useful metaphor) to hear what happened.

But were we "supposed" to dive in and snatch the cage from the bird thieves? What was the REALLY right response? I feel that it was indeed better to restrain ourselves then later "go to the top" about it because intervening would have just caused a fight. But I can't stop thinking about that golden songbird mom.......and the trapped babies! OMG.

Once, we were driving past a "parrot stall". Someone had caught parrots in a net and was selling them by the side of the road. I KNOW people need to live but parrots have PARTNERS - these birds pair for life! And they looked totally mis. I would be mis, too, if I'd been trapped in a net and was being sold my a main road without my husband.

Oh. My. God.

I can't post photos in case it identifies the people concerned, location etc but when I can I will post a photo of the birds that USED to live in the tree opposite our house and update you with what happened when my husband met the head honcho (who is a good guy - he will totally understand and do something).

Mourning here.

I love humanity and the people here but we REALLY need to get our shit together.

Sorry to swear.