has anyone ever kept ?

[squeek]

i wondered if anyone here has ever kept a wild creature ?
and how well this worked for you and your new pet ?
or would you consider doing this at all ?

i myself wouldnt capture one and keep it unless i was told it couldnt survive on the outside and would have to be destroyed

[Susie]

I have collected threatened wild butterfly eggs and kept them until the adult butterflies flew so they could repopulate the surrounding area. It was successful.

[Beekeeper]

Hi Squeek, i kept a Tawney Owl once but only for a few days, I was driving along a local road and the Tawney just fell out of a tree overhanging the road, it bounced off the roof of the car in front and landed on the grass verge, i stopped and picked it up, took it home as it was obviously unwell.

I checked with the RSPB on how to feed it and did have some success and the bird seemed to be perking up, he would sit quite happily on my arm with claws grasping my wrist which was a bit painful but he seemed quite ok about being handled, eventually, i found someone locally who cared for injured birds of prey and took it to him, he immediately diagnosed a dislocated wing and fixed that in minutes and then put him in a cage, Sadly, a few days later he died and the chap thought he had been suffering from poisoning.

BK

[Merrow]

I used keep caterpillars etc too but more recently we've taken in a rescued hedgehog (which sadly died) and an exhausted little auk one winter (which just needed a bit of peace and quiet and flew off happily the next day)

[Jenny W]

I've reared and released numerous insect larvae of various taxa. If done properly causes no harm at all to either the individual or population as a whole and fantastic for study purposes

[Kayleigh]

I used to go fishing and caught a rud the poor fish had been caught that many times its lip was torn right up close to its eye.
I thought if I put it back it probably would not survive the ordeal of being caught again so it went into a plastic bag and put into my fish tank at home it eventually got used to eating flake fish food and then it ended up in my brothers pond where it lived happily ever after never to be caught by an anglers hook again..

[Picidae]

Originally Posted by Kayleigh

I used to go fishing and caught a rud the poor fish had been caught that many times its lip was torn right up close to its eye.
I thought if I put it back it probably would not survive the ordeal of being caught again so it went into a plastic bag and put into my fish tank at home it eventually got used to eating flake fish food and then it ended up in my brothers pond where it lived happily ever after never to be caught by an anglers hook again..

LOL! That's rather amusing Kayleigh. Not all fisherman have such a big heart!

I've often had injured/rescued birds/animals for a few days before passing onto to rescue centres and we all raised butterflies from captured caterpillars along with keeping newts as kids BUT

Given the wording of the original question, it's well worth stressing on this thread that it is an offence under the WCA to 'capture' and 'keep' many wild animals/insects now and the list is amended/grows each year as more and more species become protected, so if one has 'rescued', 'captured' a wild animal, it's always worth checking first what the Law says! With injured birds, one should seek professional advice first and then pass the rescued bird to a licensed rehabber/rescue centre. No wild animal should be kept as a pet once rescued but passed on to a suitable wildlife rescue organisation where it can be cared for in captivity in a manner to keep it as 'wild' as possible in company with members of it's own species. If one has rescued and 'kept' an injured animal, it should never be released straight back into the wild unless one is absolutely sure it will be able to immediately fend for itself, conversely, it is against the Law to keep it and tame it, once it is well again - again one should always seek professional advice first.

[Johnny Redgate]

Originally Posted by Susie

I have collected threatened wild butterfly eggs and kept them until the adult butterflies flew so they could repopulate the surrounding area. It was successful.

Hi Susie

I'd be interested to know what you did. I worked on the Chequered Skipper re-intro project for some time doing something similar.

John

[Kayleigh]

Originally Posted by Picidae

LOL! That's rather amusing Kayleigh. Not all fisherman have such a big heart!

I've often had injured/rescued birds/animals for a few days before passing onto to rescue centres and we all raised butterflies from captured caterpillars along with keeping newts as kids BUT

Given the wording of the original question, it's well worth stressing on this thread that it is an offence under the WCA to 'capture' and 'keep' many wild animals/insects now and the list is amended/grows each year as more and more species become protected, so if one has 'rescued', 'captured' a wild animal, it's always worth checking first what the Law says! With injured birds, one should seek professional advice first and then pass the rescued bird to a licensed rehabber/rescue centre. No wild animal should be kept as a pet once rescued but passed on to a suitable wildlife rescue organisation where it can be cared for in captivity in a manner to keep it as 'wild' as possible in company with members of it's own species. If one has rescued and 'kept' an injured animal, it should never be released straight back into the wild unless one is absolutely sure it will be able to immediately fend for itself, conversely, it is against the Law to keep it and tame it, once it is well again - again one should always seek professional advice first.

good advice Picidae...

The poor fish while it was in the tank swam hard into the side and floated to the top going round in circles..
I thought it was a gonner but after about an hour it came round and made a full recovery the daft thing knocked itself out...
this is true believe it or not..

[Hedera]

I kept a baby wild rabbit which one of our cats brought: she hadn't injured it and carried it like a kitten. This was in 1940! We had lots of rabbits, kept for meat. Little Jim lived until he was 8 years old and was very tame. We fed him with a rag dipped in milk and water and honey until he was old enough to eat for himself. He never grew very large. He would come in the house and lie down with the cat, I think she thought he was her kitten.