The Dead Bird Problem

The other week, inside the front gate, lay a dead spotted dove. As local bird life goes, these things are pretty and innocuous. It has been introduced to Australia, but unlike it's noisy and annoying friend, the noisy minor, the spotted dove keeps a pretty low profile. 

This one, however, was dead. This dove was no more! He had ceased to be! It had expired and gone to meet its maker! it was a stiff! Bereft of life, it rests in peace! If it wasn't lying on the ground, it would be pushing up the daisies! Its metabolic processes were history! It had kicked the bucket, shuffled off its mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleeding choir invisible! It was an ex-dove.

And it was lying just inside the side gate of the property. 

So here is the situation. 

I live in a block of 24 apartments. 

I live alone. 

The caretakers come to the property allegedly one a week on a Monday - this was Wednesday. The caretakers appear to have gone on strike - and the body corporate sent an electrician to replace a lightbulb a few weeks ago (when the caretakers should have been doing their bloody jobs).

In the past, I've given the job of dealing with occasional dead things to my downstairs neighbour, Skot, who, being a bloke from the country, has no issue with dealing with dead things. (Except for the one time when his cat dissected a rat and left it in the hallway while they were away. I got a new dustpan out of that one. Eww)

The bird sat there for a number of days. 

So, here is my question. Who's job is it to remove the bird and put it somewhere where it won't get stepped on, or just rot. Would it be better to place it out on the nature strip and let the council deal with it? (I've rung the council on occasion to remove dead possums from the footpath.)

Why do I feel guilty about not dealing with the bird? Would putting it in a plastic bag and throwing it in the bin be okay?

And why won't somebody else deal with the dead bird. If Skot was here, I'm sure he'd deal with it. Why won't some other big tough bloke move the dead bird. 

What are our responsibilities to this bird? What are the responsibilities to our neighbours? And why won't somebody else have the nerve to move the dead bird. 

In the end, after a couple of days, the bird's carcass had been moved. Who did it? I don't know. Not me. 

And lastly, why are we so squeamish about dealing with dead things? It's a part of life.

Today's song: