I hate birds of prey.
They can all go extinct for all I care.
Millions of rodents agree with you.
I like raptors until they draw near my kitties, or near the pheasants I feed out here in the driveway during winter.
At that point they become birds of MY prey.
Fairly partial to eagles myself.
I’m with you! And they are now in suburban neighborhoods - unheard of when I was a kid. Buzzards, hawks...yikes!
Really?
You probably hate tigers too, then.
Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night:
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
In what distant deeps or skies,
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare sieze the fire?
And what shoulder, & what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? & what dread feet?
What the hammer? what the chain,
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp,
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?
When the stars threw down their spears
And water’d heaven with their tears:
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?
Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night:
What immortal hand or eye,
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?
--- William Blake
Raptors and carrion-eating birds have their places in God’s plan.
It’s horrifying when they take pets, but they do prey on a lot of vermin and keep dead things from stinking up the place.
Thirty years ago, Hubby and I had a friend who lived in heavily wooded Topanga Canyon in California. His gal pal had a cat that she couldn’t take with her when she moved away. The cat’s name was “Bushes” because she found it in some bushes and adopted it.
Our friend took the cat and kept good care of her until an owl (an OWL!!) swooped down one early evening and spirited her away.
Not wanting to upset his good friend, he would always tell her when they spoke how well Bushes was doing, her litters of kittens, her antics, etc., until she “died.”
True friendship!
Apropos of nothing, this man was the spitting image of Kenny Rogers. You could not tell them apart. And he never tried to impersonate him, either! (referring to a person who did impersonate Rogers to get free stuff at some big hotel back then - I forget the details - It’s been a long time)