Cage bird, smage bird - lol. Psh.. all caged birds were either bred or captured in captivity. These gorgeous earthlings are never alone in the wild. They call wildly for their flock mates if they become separated for even just a minute. They play and preen with each other, fly together, and share egg-incubation duties. Many of the species mate for life and share parental duties. It's plain to see their close companionship and concern for each other.
Birds are the third most popular type of companion in the US due to their intelligence, playfulness, colors, speech capabilities, and loyalty. About forty million birds in the US are kept caged and often improperly cared for - far away from home, bored, and lonely. Many people buy birds on impulse and haven't a clue on how much money, energy, and time is needed for their care. They are as messy and can be as destructive as puppies, something irresponsible breeders and retailers won't share with their customers. But, unlike puppies, they continue this behavior for fifteen to seventy-five years, rather than a few months. Additionally, birds can be extremely loud and demanding and something severely bite their caretakers. Most customers aren't prepared for an animal companion who is curious, demanding, and needy as a two year old child, so plenty of birds spend their entire lives trapped inside a cage that's too small in the corner or a room, garage, or basement, not comfortably being able to use or stretch their wings and deprived of the vital companionship of other birds. Like chained dogs, these caged birds desire companionship and freedom, not the cruel reality of forced solitary confinement for the rest of their very long lives.
Due to boredness and loneliness, they are driven mad and become self-destructive, neurotic, and aggressive. They pull out their own feathers, mutilate their skin, incessantly bob their heads and regurgitate, shake, sometimes collapse from anxiety, ace back and forth, and peck over and over again. Even when a previously caged bird comes into a home in which he or she is allowed a rich, active life, these behaviors are extremely difficult to extinguish if ever.
There are enormous bird factories where breeders warehouse thousands of parrots and other exotic birds and remove their offspring in order to sell them to pet stores. They are usually confined to dirty, dimly lit cages, where they cannot fully stretch their wings. There is no federal legislation to protect birds in this trade, so it's unlikely to have a successful prosecution of cruelty or neglect.
In Washington State, a parrot-breeding operation - in which a veterinarian described as a "concentration camp" and where, according to news sources, birds "lived in cold, wet, filthy conditions for years" - remains open and continues to raise birds for the trade. This lack of caring has been reported at facilities across the country.
These factories often breed communicable diseases, too, from proventricular dilation disease (PDD) - symptoms including depression, weight loss, and constant or intermittent regurgitation - to papillomavirus infection, salmonellosis, giardiasis, and psttacine beak and feather disease. Sock birds can give humans or other pet birds chlamydiosis (psittacosis), salmonellosis, E. coli infections, tuberculosis, giardiasis, and other illnesses associated with fungi and bacteria.
Wild caught parrots are commodities in the multi billion-dollar illegal wildlife trade. Hardly a week goes by without another story of a bird smuggler who was caught with parrots in the air vents on his or her car, ,of small parrots being smuggled in jacket pockets, or of any hundreds of other usually deadly schemes to import these valuable birds illegally. Most smugglers do not get caught, so many uninspected, sick, terrified birds enter the companion trade yearly.
When these cute and lovable birds turn out to be noisy, demanding, and messy many are later abandoned, and few live out their natural life spans. About 85 percent of parrots are resold, given away, or abandoned within two years of being purchase If they are ignored, they suffer in isolation and may become even noisier, more aggressive, and dependent.
Caged companion birds are typically not native to the areas where they reside. You cannot simply open a window and let them fly away (which is a crime of abandonment in most states). Without the proper food, habitat, and climate, escaped or released captive birds become prey for free-roaming cats and wildlife or are doomed to suffer lingering deaths because of the exposure, injuries, or starvation.
Only a small percentage of these unwanted birds are placed and cared for in rescue groups, animal shelters, and sanctuaries. To complicate matters further, some alleged "sanctuaries" are actually thinly disguised breeding colonies or hoarding situations in which birds are housed in extremely crowded conditions, receive minimal care and attention, and may even be sold back into the trade.
If you or a friend have a lot of time and resources and remain determined to have a bird companion, please adopt a homeless one from a shelter or rescue group, bit only after fully researching their dietary, behavioral, and other other needs.. a lot of work on the way! Buying birds from pet shops contributes to a horrible cycle of disease and abuse, so to appreciate birds without buying and caging them, consider creating your own backyard sanctuary!
Birds are the third most popular type of companion in the US due to their intelligence, playfulness, colors, speech capabilities, and loyalty. About forty million birds in the US are kept caged and often improperly cared for - far away from home, bored, and lonely. Many people buy birds on impulse and haven't a clue on how much money, energy, and time is needed for their care. They are as messy and can be as destructive as puppies, something irresponsible breeders and retailers won't share with their customers. But, unlike puppies, they continue this behavior for fifteen to seventy-five years, rather than a few months. Additionally, birds can be extremely loud and demanding and something severely bite their caretakers. Most customers aren't prepared for an animal companion who is curious, demanding, and needy as a two year old child, so plenty of birds spend their entire lives trapped inside a cage that's too small in the corner or a room, garage, or basement, not comfortably being able to use or stretch their wings and deprived of the vital companionship of other birds. Like chained dogs, these caged birds desire companionship and freedom, not the cruel reality of forced solitary confinement for the rest of their very long lives.
Due to boredness and loneliness, they are driven mad and become self-destructive, neurotic, and aggressive. They pull out their own feathers, mutilate their skin, incessantly bob their heads and regurgitate, shake, sometimes collapse from anxiety, ace back and forth, and peck over and over again. Even when a previously caged bird comes into a home in which he or she is allowed a rich, active life, these behaviors are extremely difficult to extinguish if ever.
There are enormous bird factories where breeders warehouse thousands of parrots and other exotic birds and remove their offspring in order to sell them to pet stores. They are usually confined to dirty, dimly lit cages, where they cannot fully stretch their wings. There is no federal legislation to protect birds in this trade, so it's unlikely to have a successful prosecution of cruelty or neglect.
In Washington State, a parrot-breeding operation - in which a veterinarian described as a "concentration camp" and where, according to news sources, birds "lived in cold, wet, filthy conditions for years" - remains open and continues to raise birds for the trade. This lack of caring has been reported at facilities across the country.
These factories often breed communicable diseases, too, from proventricular dilation disease (PDD) - symptoms including depression, weight loss, and constant or intermittent regurgitation - to papillomavirus infection, salmonellosis, giardiasis, and psttacine beak and feather disease. Sock birds can give humans or other pet birds chlamydiosis (psittacosis), salmonellosis, E. coli infections, tuberculosis, giardiasis, and other illnesses associated with fungi and bacteria.
Wild caught parrots are commodities in the multi billion-dollar illegal wildlife trade. Hardly a week goes by without another story of a bird smuggler who was caught with parrots in the air vents on his or her car, ,of small parrots being smuggled in jacket pockets, or of any hundreds of other usually deadly schemes to import these valuable birds illegally. Most smugglers do not get caught, so many uninspected, sick, terrified birds enter the companion trade yearly.
When these cute and lovable birds turn out to be noisy, demanding, and messy many are later abandoned, and few live out their natural life spans. About 85 percent of parrots are resold, given away, or abandoned within two years of being purchase If they are ignored, they suffer in isolation and may become even noisier, more aggressive, and dependent.
Caged companion birds are typically not native to the areas where they reside. You cannot simply open a window and let them fly away (which is a crime of abandonment in most states). Without the proper food, habitat, and climate, escaped or released captive birds become prey for free-roaming cats and wildlife or are doomed to suffer lingering deaths because of the exposure, injuries, or starvation.
Only a small percentage of these unwanted birds are placed and cared for in rescue groups, animal shelters, and sanctuaries. To complicate matters further, some alleged "sanctuaries" are actually thinly disguised breeding colonies or hoarding situations in which birds are housed in extremely crowded conditions, receive minimal care and attention, and may even be sold back into the trade.
If you or a friend have a lot of time and resources and remain determined to have a bird companion, please adopt a homeless one from a shelter or rescue group, bit only after fully researching their dietary, behavioral, and other other needs.. a lot of work on the way! Buying birds from pet shops contributes to a horrible cycle of disease and abuse, so to appreciate birds without buying and caging them, consider creating your own backyard sanctuary!
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