Cold hard truth

All I am thinking lately has been about exams, so I should not be bragging about it except the fact that I am half way there. E (my lab partner) and I decided to go out for some munchies, after having sat an exam. We trotted around the city of Melbourne indecisively, before leisurely settled down at Journal Canteen (one of the places I used to study for exams). Our topics of conservation again revolved around life and other deep-thought issues. At one point, we talked about the nature of the truth.

One of the pathologists (we both respect) apparently made her neighbour cry, after telling the truth about the fate of the little bird her neighbour brought in. As many of us have progressed through veterinary studies, we have touched on the topic of wildlife, and learnt that a small baby bird abandoned by its parents generally doesn't stand much chance in this cruel wild world. The poor subject often either starves to death once it is abandoned, or gets picked up by kind-hearted people, then gets dropped off at a vet clinic/animal shelter. 

Truth calling?

Well...what happens behind the clinic door/shelter is then unknownst to the general public. The bird is often given a highly-overdosed shot of sodium pentobarbital either by intravenous (into a vein) or intraperitoneal (into the abdomen), for the purpose of euthanasia on humane ground. For many in the veterinary profession, the action is adequately and reasonably justified, as the bird is very likely to die, unless it is close the fledgling stage, or able to fend for itself. This would prevent pointless suffering. Another aspect is that if the animal is non-native, which means it may post threats to the local species, it is by law that the animal must be destroyed.

So the poor neighbour was given the synopsis, and she did not take it well. It might have been courteous to withdraw the truth, and only provide part of it. But upon retrospection, I would certainly have trouble putting an acting mask on for the purpose of deception, so I could understand why the pathologist decided to do as such.

E and I agreed that that the truth should be provided if possible, and only if the recipient seems capable of taking it. However, this is because we have become dispassionate while dealing with issues like this. I have heard of parents telling their kid that the family dog is going to a farm, and will never come back. Then the kid goes heartbroken, and asks if the dog will miss him/her.

Certainly, there is a moral dilemma. Is it worth to tell the truth to people, even though it may hurt them even more?