A dead owl

This morning before I left work work, I did what I always do. I caught up on some news sites and checked my Facebook groups for news about specific topics. I read something I wasn’t expecting that, quite frankly, hit me like a bus. I have thought about it off an on all day.

Facebook is not a mass news media site. Why? Because it doesn’t produce news and its purpose isn’t to distribute mediated news. However, you can certainly get news from it, both accurate and inaccurate. But because it isn’t a bonafide news site, it is hard to place any trust in what you read there (yes, I am aware of the lack of public trust for ANY news site). Nevertheless, below is what I read that bothered me then and bothers me now as I type this:

I died today.
I ate a poisoned mouse… A woman has found me I have been soooo sick . Brought me inside to keep warm. Opened my eyes to thank her for making my last few minutes as comfortable as possible. But i was too sick i closed my big eyes for the last time and i passed out. PLEASE DO NOT USE poison to kill rats or mice. Poison kills owls. All I wanted was a mouse for supper.

Reread that and digest it.

That text was accompanied by the photo above. Is it real or fiction? No idea. Don’t care. Why? Because I know it is plausible that the Facebook post and the accompanying photo was legitimate and accurate. I also know that this has, indeed, happened to many owls as well as other creatures (e.g., cats, foxes).

My site isn’t an animal rights site nor is it an environmental advocacy site. However, as a staunch animal lover, this bothers me…and I’m not afraid to tell you.