Explaining WDRP Policy: No Indoor Releases
The following is an e-mail dialogue between my good colleague, Ed Kellems, of "Wings of Heaven" in Birdseye, Indiana. First is the question sent to him by a bride. Following that is his response.
BRIDE: "Hi, I'm having a wedding reception in Long Island, NY. We wanted to release a few doves into the ballroom just before they introduced us to our guests as husband and wife, we thought then the professional can call them back after our first dance or before then leave. Can that work?"
A Bride to be !
ED'S RESPONSE: "Hello, I understand what your asking and the answer is "NO", that won't work. But let me explain a little more to you about what you're asking. There are two fields of training here. You could compare it to a doctor and a lawyer. Both are trained professionals but you wouldn't want the lawyer operating on you no more than you would want the doctor to defend you in court.
Now I'll try to explain to you the difference in the two fields of dove releases. There are places that perform indoor releases. The Dixie Stampede is one of them. But they have spent months training the birds for this one feat. And those same birds are used day after day in that building. And they ONLY fly inside that building. If you try to move them to another building you would spend months retraining the birds again.
The members of our group do not practice indoor releases. We do outdoor releases only. And this, too, is a specialized field of training. The birds are trained to return home when released. These birds are highly trained and very much atheletes. They could very easily hurt themselves inside a building when released because they would be looking for a way out to get home.
Both of the above fields take months and months of training. One specializes in outdoor releases and one specializes in indoor releases. With an outdoor release, the birds will return home from anywhere, within a reasonable distance. This is what they are trained to do. The indoor birds are trained only for that one building. And it would take months for them to be changed to a different building. I hope this helps you understand why it's not feasible to try releasing birds indoors for one wedding."
MY SIDE NOTE: I've heard stories of an individual in Southern California who will release his birds in a myriad of poorly chosen situations. He places the almighty dollar far above animal ethics. He is quite the exception, as most dove release people take extensive care in protecting their birds. One such release this person did was inside the Crystal Cathedral. The birds were absolutely untrained for this venue and were released, nonetheless. The birds (& surely many guests) panicked that they couldn't get out of the building. They clung clumsily with wings flapping, to foliage, hit windows, etc. I'm not certain how they were ever retrieved. This is not the type of release our WDRP group promotes, or even tolerates -- because we care about the professionalism of the release and the safety of the animals, first and foremost. No amount of money can convince a WDRP member to risk an unethical release. Individuals like this are the primary reason the WDRP non-profit organization was started in the first place: To preserve professionalism and concern for the birds in all dove releases. An accountability group consisting of international dove release companies would promote ethics: And thus, the White Dove Release Professionals was formed.
BRIDE: "Hi, I'm having a wedding reception in Long Island, NY. We wanted to release a few doves into the ballroom just before they introduced us to our guests as husband and wife, we thought then the professional can call them back after our first dance or before then leave. Can that work?"
A Bride to be !
ED'S RESPONSE: "Hello, I understand what your asking and the answer is "NO", that won't work. But let me explain a little more to you about what you're asking. There are two fields of training here. You could compare it to a doctor and a lawyer. Both are trained professionals but you wouldn't want the lawyer operating on you no more than you would want the doctor to defend you in court.
Now I'll try to explain to you the difference in the two fields of dove releases. There are places that perform indoor releases. The Dixie Stampede is one of them. But they have spent months training the birds for this one feat. And those same birds are used day after day in that building. And they ONLY fly inside that building. If you try to move them to another building you would spend months retraining the birds again.
The members of our group do not practice indoor releases. We do outdoor releases only. And this, too, is a specialized field of training. The birds are trained to return home when released. These birds are highly trained and very much atheletes. They could very easily hurt themselves inside a building when released because they would be looking for a way out to get home.
Both of the above fields take months and months of training. One specializes in outdoor releases and one specializes in indoor releases. With an outdoor release, the birds will return home from anywhere, within a reasonable distance. This is what they are trained to do. The indoor birds are trained only for that one building. And it would take months for them to be changed to a different building. I hope this helps you understand why it's not feasible to try releasing birds indoors for one wedding."
MY SIDE NOTE: I've heard stories of an individual in Southern California who will release his birds in a myriad of poorly chosen situations. He places the almighty dollar far above animal ethics. He is quite the exception, as most dove release people take extensive care in protecting their birds. One such release this person did was inside the Crystal Cathedral. The birds were absolutely untrained for this venue and were released, nonetheless. The birds (& surely many guests) panicked that they couldn't get out of the building. They clung clumsily with wings flapping, to foliage, hit windows, etc. I'm not certain how they were ever retrieved. This is not the type of release our WDRP group promotes, or even tolerates -- because we care about the professionalism of the release and the safety of the animals, first and foremost. No amount of money can convince a WDRP member to risk an unethical release. Individuals like this are the primary reason the WDRP non-profit organization was started in the first place: To preserve professionalism and concern for the birds in all dove releases. An accountability group consisting of international dove release companies would promote ethics: And thus, the White Dove Release Professionals was formed.
posted by The Dove Lady at 8:26:00 AM
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