It probably began in the past when man began to understand the beauty of animals. Coupled with his power over them, he probably decided that he wanted to have the beautiful animals that he had encountered on his hunting trips to be near him. Through the centuries, man has domesticated quite a few animals to serve his needs, and sometimes to serve no need at all. It is one thing to keep an animal nearby to serve one's needs but it is cruel to want to keep them 'just for fun'. Hence, keeping animals and birds in cages is quite ridiculous if not cruel.

It is most definitely cruel to keep any animal or bird in captivity; worse still confined in cages. An animal or bird is so carefree in its own environment. It knows of no restrictions. It goes about its own business of eating and drinking and creating babies. Even domestic animals would like to walk about and act according to their instincts and desires. Caging them would deprive them of this. How often have we seen caged animals pacing their cages in futile attempts to escape? Can we imagine the frustration that they feel? What do we get in making a creature furious, frustrated and depressed? Yet humans do it all the time. Since we would think it cruel if someone were to cage us, it stands to reason that we should not do it to others, even animals and birds. The sense of justice we hold so dear when it comes to humans should be extended to all living creatures.

Besides being cruel, it serves little purpose to want to cage animals and birds. Wild animals and birds being caged up serve our egoistic pleasure of power over others and that's about all that we do. Cultivating such natures does not do us any good; actually developing such natures will make us cruel and egoistic. Left in the wild a bird does all sorts of things; when kept in the cage, it just sits there. Granted that birds are beautiful to look at, we cannot observe the bird at its best when it is caged. To watch the bird at its best we should go to its habitat. Caging domestic animals just serves the purpose of controlling them. If we cannot look after them, why acquire them in the first place?

Finally, we have no right to do this; we do it because the creatures are powerless to prevent us from confronting them. If we are robbed of such rights, we would rather die than yield. Only in the cruelest of regimes are men and women confined only because the government - good or otherwise - feels that they are threats to their power or to the country. By what right then do we imprison animals and birds without any qualms?

Wild animals should be left free in their habitats and domestic animals should be given as much freedom as possible. The only reason for caging birds and animals is when they are a danger to themselves or to others. Nevertheless, wild animals and birds should never be captured in the first place.