So to expand on these, because a lot of people seem to think “it’s because they cared”, that’s only partially it.
Back before faster travel methods, if you wanted a small bird for any reason and it had to travel any significant distance, you would assume at least a 75% fatality rate from stress, with that increasing to roughly 90% over greater distances.
So canaries and finches were expensive, and unless your mine was close to a port city, you’d be traveling 3-4 days at least. Need 4 canaries? Better buy 40.
So to expand on these, because a lot of people seem to think “it’s because they cared”, that’s only partially it.
Back before faster travel methods, if you wanted a small bird for any reason and it had to travel any significant distance, you would assume at least a 75% fatality rate from stress, with that increasing to roughly 90% over greater distances.
So canaries and finches were expensive, and unless your mine was close to a port city, you’d be traveling 3-4 days at least. Need 4 canaries? Better buy 40.