The Plight of Parrots in Captivity
For many years, parrots were captured in the wild and taken to other countries. They were forced to live in extremely small cages, inside peoples houses, never seeing sunshine again. Their diets were poor, providing next to none of their natural foods, whilst they were expected to provide entertainment for visitors. Most of these parrots lived very short, unhappy lives.
The somewhat recent focus on the loss of rainforests and their inhabitants awakened people to the fact that several species of these parrots had already become extinct. It became obvious that if this trade continued, many more species would have the same fate. In order to facilitate the business that had grown around this "exotic bird industry" a new myth was born.
Myth – Parrots should be bred in captivity for the pet industry instead of being captured in the wild.
If morality had ruled instead of money, the rules would have been:
- Allow parrots to be bred in captivity for aviculture and the continuance of the species.
- The environment for breeding birds should be adequate, as though they were flying free in the wild.
- Chicks should be raised by their parents in order to keep their natural instincts.
- Breeders in cold climates such as North America and Europe should be declined as these birds are tropical.
Reality – The parrots we see now, incubator-hatched and people-raised, are totally different from parrots raised in their natural environments. Imagine a parrot trapped in the prison of a cage, its wings clipped and unable to fly freely in warm sunshine and clean air. Consider its solitary entertainment of breaking childrens' toys or pieces of coloured wood apart, instead of searching for hours with a friend for that really tasty morsel of food.
Imagine being forced to live in a house with all the chemicals present in carpets, furniture and cleaning products, with smoke from cigarettes, nicotine from fingers, aerosolized oil from deep frying, oils from scented candles and background air polluted from cars and other human sources. Now imagine the tiny lungs of a parrot and the devastating effects of such toxins on such tiny lungs.
Unfortunately, a loving home can change very quickly when lifestyle changes occur – wedding, divorce, new baby, new home, death, new job – any one of these scenarios can mean that there is no longer time for the parrot who was supposed to be a family member for a lifetime.
When a flock rejects a bird, the rejected parrot rarely lives. Now, imagine how a parrot feels after being rejected by ten or more flocks (homes).
There are a great number of parrot refuges opening their doors all over the US, Canada, the UK and Europe. This is indicative of the huge problem out there. When some people realize that the intelligent parrot they purchased is not the quiet, low-maintenance, sweet-natured, talkative "people toy" that they had presumed it to be, the result is frequently neglect, abuse and a desire to "get rid of" a now unprized possession.
Any of these circumstances can lead to a parrot having a depressed immune system, a depressed personality, and is usually followed by illness and an early death.
The multi-million dollar industry that has grown up around making "people toys" out of beautiful, intelligent living beings is very difficult to counteract. It is up to people who truly care about these birds to stop the plight of parrots in captivity.
What can you do?
- Only buy previously owned parrots
- Make the committment to provide a home for life
- Provide a large enclosure inside and outside, weather permitting
- Allow parrots the joy of flight
- Provide a natural diet
- Visit a good avian veterinarian regularly
All businesses run on the principles of supply and demand. If we commit to taking care of those parrots already on the "pet-go-round" and refuse to buy baby birds, the breeding of these living beings for profit will stop.