Animal Orphans on TV last night

Birker2020

Birker2020

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Did anyone watch this last night?. It was a lovely programme and I really enjoyed it and I have warmed to Paul O'Grady, he is a lovely man.

One question though, about the penguin called Stevie who was pts. He had got his full adult feathers (they explained earlier how it took four weeks for the brown feathers to dissapear before the adult feathers came) yet they had waited all that time to consult the vet about his eyesight which from what they said had never even been there in the beginning. The poor thing, it must have been evident from day one that he had no eyesight and he was continously walking and swimming around in circles and getting picked on by others and it was very distressing to watch. Yes the charity had separated him from the others but what quality of life had he had for those weeks that he was kept alive before seeing a vet.

I know they are a charity and were doing their very best for the penguins in their care and I know the decision was the only decision they could have made as he obviously had no quality of life ..... but why the delay in seeking help?
 
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Maybe they were waiting for him to be old enough to cope with any treatment that might be needed. Maybe you should contact the charity and ask them ?
 
I *think* they said he'd only come in a couple of days earlier, rather then being a chick that had been picked up and reared...
 
Maybe they had to wait for the TV crew to turn up so they could film it to have the usual 'drama' and justify the sad music?

Shame they didnt put paul o'grady down at the same time. Why oh why must he talk like that and just do that 'thing' he does which annoys the hell out of me Arrrgghhhhhhhhh!!!!!!! :mad:
 
Antw23uk said:
Shame they didnt put paul o'grady down at the same time. Why oh why must he talk like that and just do that 'thing' he does which annoys the hell out of me Arrrgghhhhhhhhh!!!!!!! :mad:
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He can't help his accent, I really like him. I met him at a dog show in Battersea Park a few years ago and he seemed really nice and down to earth. Anyone who loves animals as much as he does gets my vote.
 
Erggghhh seriously? Like nails down a blackboard! I watched the programme though and just flinched through that 'cackly old women routine' he does!
 
Antw23uk said:
Erggghhh seriously? Like nails down a blackboard! I watched the programme though and just flinched through that 'cackly old women routine' he does!
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Yup he doesn't annoy me at all. There are plenty of people on telly who do annoy me though, who seriously want me to put my fist through the television jobs!
 
I think he's wonderful, and I don't really know why, usually people that "soft" annoy me! Re Stevie, I'm sure they said he'd come in about a week before, perhaps the vet only comes on a set day unless it's a real emergency.
 
Didn't see the program I'm afraid so maybe have this wrong..

I have worked with rehabilitating wild birds in the past and unless there is something very obviously physically wrong (eg. something broken that needed setting) we tended to give them a few days of being warm, well fed, on anitbios if needed for assessment before getting the vet involved. Swimming round in circles etc could be a sign of neurological trauma in which case it might have cleared up if and when the swelling reduced. It may have been that they were giving him a while to 'recover'. It can be surprisingly difficult to assess a birds eyesight as their normal reactions are often muted or absent due to being in such a high stress, alien environment.

Staying clear of the Paul O'Grady discussion :-)
 
I don't know about Stevie the penguin.

However, what made me slightly uncomfortable were a couple of the 'private sanctuaries/rehab centres' which appeared to be little more than private petting zoos as no actual effort was made to rehab them in any way.

I accept that young, hand reared lions would struggle to live in the wild but that doesn't really explain the thinking behind taking them out for walks holding on to their tails and then smacking them in the face with a stick when they acted like...um...lions.
 
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