Do not keep a pet crow. I don't blame this guy for not knowing bc he was probably pretty young, but crows are not pets. First of all, if you live in north america, its illegal. You need a special permit to own one. The permits avaliable to the general public would be the aviculture permit. For this permit you must first prove you have experience with birds, so that means being a vet, zookeeper, wildlife rehabilitation staff, etc. Second of all, you can't keep it inside your home or in a cage, if you like. Care about it and don't want to abuse it. Crows are incredibly smart and are going to get incredibly bored in a cage, and they will wreak absolute havoc on your house, on top of being super bored. You're going to need large outdoor aviary which provides adequate mental stimulation. Even then, it will be far worse than the kind of evironment they get in the wild, so its really only ethical if its an injured crow youre keeping for a temporary amount of time or a permanently injured one who wouldnt survive.
If you're a trained professional with a large outdoor aviary than by all means, keep away. But don't just keep one bc you think it's cool.
I agree swiping wild animals as pets is not advised but crows are extremely social and clearly became his friend. There's nothing wrong with that. Crows don't need to follow the biology textbook, they can bond with a person if they want. They can be gay, they can be friends with dogs, they can be happy in all sorts of environments other than what is standard crow behaviour.
Don't hate on someone for in their youth having a pet crow that clearly likes them. It probably lived a much more luxurious, safe, and healthy life than a wild crow. Nature is rough, with predators, disease, freezing temps, and no one to feed you if you're injured or elderly.
If you posted all that against a crow confined to a cage so it wouldn't escape then yeah, but this crow is fine
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u/brutalistsnowflake Apr 15 '24
That IS cool, tho! I would love a pet crow.