Should Birds be Kept as Pets?
By a Guest • November 18, 2009 • 17 comments
The following article, written by Monica Engebretson, author and senior program associate at Born Free USA, appeared on Opposing Views (http://www.opposingviews.com/) earlier this month and provoked a fire-storm of comments. Should we be re-posting it here? The article is well-written and discusses some very important issues concerning avian welfare; Monica is a well-informed, committed conservationist who has been a good friend of 10,000 Birds throughout 2009; and though we know that there may well be a similar fire-storm once it gets out that we’ve posted this, we’ve never backed away from an argument just because some people out there have very LOUD VOICES.
As always we welcome comment, folks, but personal, inappropriate, or anonymous comments or comments submitted without verifiable email addresses will be deleted.
|
What if you went over to your neighbor’s house and noticed that they had a cat sitting in a cage in their living room? You’d probably ask if the cat was sick or recovering from an injury. What if they told you that they keep her in there most of the time because the house stays cleaner that way? Now imagine that they open the cage door and bring the cat out, but before setting her down they wrap some yarn around her front legs tying them together in a hobble. This, they say, keeps her from running outside where she might get hurt, plus it keeps her from jumping up on the counter. If you’re like most humane-minded people you’d be appalled and would consider this treatment cruel. Your state’s anti-cruelty laws would likely agree. So why don’t people question the practice of keeping birds as pets? A parrot is just as active and inquisitive as a cat. In fact, parrots have greater cognitive abilities than cats — parrots have been compared to human toddlers in terms of their intelligence and emotional needs. Anyone who has ever had, or taken care of, a bird can attest that it is extremely difficult to care for a bird without using a cage or controlling their flight. However, whether or not cages or flight control are necessary for caring for captive birds may be irrelevant to the question of whether the birds make suitable pets. Perhaps a more relevant question is whether or not it is acceptable to keep a particular animal as a companion if ensuring his or her safety or compatibility in the home requires that he or she be constantly caged and/or physically disabled. Birds are routinely denied two of their most fundamental natural behaviors — flying and socialization. Denial of these activities can cause physical and behavioral abnormalities including incessant screaming, pacing, head-bobbing, feather-plucking, and self-mutilation. Captive birds may also exhibit extremely low behavior, appearing to be catatonic. This is not the sign of a well-adjusted bird, it’s a sign of a bird who has given up.
Denial of natural behavior isn’t the only factor that calls to question the suitability of birds as companion animals. The vast majority of birds kept as pets are also fed inadequate seed-only diets and most are never taken to a veterinarian — only 11.7% of bird-owning households currently seek veterinary advice for their birds. It has been estimated that malnutrition is responsible for up to 90% of all clinical conditions seen by avian practitioners.
In addition, evidence suggests that as long as the private ownership of parrots remains socially acceptable and commercial profits persist, the smuggling of parrots for the pet trade will likely continue despite trade restrictions and availability of captive-bred birds. In fact, because captive-bred birds are physically identical to their wild-caught counterparts, the presence of captive-bred birds in the trade actually helps facilitate the wild trade by providing cover for smuggled birds. When one considers the considerable restrictions captive birds endure, the inadequate diets most are fed, and impact the trade in birds as pets has had on species in the wild, it is easy to conclude that, like other non-domesticated animals, birds are not suitable companion animals. |
Each year millions of exotic animals are captured from the wild or produced in captivity for commercial profit or human amusement, only to languish in conditions that fail to meet the instinctive, behavioral, and physical needs of these wild animals. Born Free USA aims to reduce animal suffering by raising public awareness of the cruel and destructive exotic animal trade, by increasing legal protections for captive exotic animals, and by supporting efforts aimed at preserving wildlife’s rightful place in the wild. Learn more at www.bornfreeusa.org
Born Free USA united with API is an NGO participant at the Meetings of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which regulates commercial international trade of threatened and endangered species.
I agree.
I think the issues raised by Monica are some good ones, though equating parrots to cats is more than a bit like comparing apples to oranges. Dogs, for example, are often “caged” (crated) and that’s considered a good management tool. I don’t think a cage for a bird is routinely a bad thing. I think how long birds are kept in cages is.
That said, I do think it’s cruel to keep birds from flying–and I don’t just mean for 5 minutes here or there. And most bird species prefer the company of their own, as do we, after all.
I don’t think it’s impossible to properly care for a bird as a pet but I do agree that most aren’t living in mentally healthful ways. They are too often kept from flying and too often living without the company of their own kind.
Carolyn H.
Birds should not be pets.
Interesting topic as it applies to me personally. I started becoming a birder about five years ago. Because of my family’s allergies to cats and dogs, and my love of birds, it felt natural for my family to get me parakeets for Christmas last year. We really enjoy the four of them and we do all we can to follow the advice of Lisa Shea in our care for them. The birds seem well adjusted, healthy, social with each other and with my family. I had been keeping the wings trimmed because I let them out of their cages everyday, and it was for their own safety. Recently I’ve let them grow out and I enjoy seeing them fly. Yet, I still feel a little bit conflicted. I cannot replicate their native habitat in Australia and releasing them into the wild’s of Idaho would be inappropriate for 10,000 reasons, including almost certain death. I don’t know that I can completely resolve my internal conflict on this issue. On principle, I do not support keeping birds as pets, especially the endangered species. Recognizing my own hypocrisy, I will simply carry on and do my best to provide a good life for Mel, Bindi, Nicole, and Russell.
I agree with Monica. Already domesticated animals are one thing (we can’t change the past), but I think we should be hands off with everything else. If we really love the creatures as they are, we should leave them as they are–in the wild.
HI Robert,
You are not alone in your conflict. Many question the keeping of birds after they acquire them. I too had birds at one time (I kept them all and provided the best possible care I could until they passed away)
At the end of the article as it appeared on Opposing Views, I included the following disclaimer to address your situation.
“Disclaimer: As expressed in this article birds are non-domesticated animals that belong in the wild where they can fly freely and express their natural behaviors. However, due to the large number of birds living in captivity which cannot be returned to the wild and the limited space available in avian sanctuaries, optimizing care of birds held in private hands can go far in reducing suffering and improving the welfare of captive birds. Tips for optimizing care can be found at http://www.nationalbirdday.org.”
Hope this helps.
Monica
If one truly loves birds, one must truly understand that it is only in the wild that all birds can live the life they deserve. To capture them as if they were flowers in a vase is the lowest form of adoration. Do NOT buy a bird if you love them, go out and watch them flying. In Wildness is the Preservation of the Earth! (Henry David Thoreau)
I choose not to keep caged birds because I would rather help financially, those birds that are endangered. I support captive breeding of birds, such as we have been reading about the Madagascan Pochards. When a bird is almost extinct, all measures must be considered. eg. When captive breeding is done in conjunction with habitat conservation. It is good to air such an article. I believe the way we treat animals, birds etc will be one of the biggest ‘rights’ issues this century. The right for all living things to exist!
I had a feeling that disallowing anonymous comments would silence the usual “it’s our right to own birds” group: it’s a shame though that they don’t feel able to join the discussion without giving their real names…Thanks everyone else though!
Monica: Apologies about omitting the disclaimer - I thought that had come from Opposing Views and not yourself. Thanks for the correction.
Marc: Perfectly put as always IMHO!
Brenton: I have to state my admiration for the support you give to conservation campaigns. You were the first to put money into our Spoon-billed Sandpiper ‘pot’, have been very supportive of our Sharpe’s Longclaw work (and everything else we’ve done actually), and I know you do far more as well. I wish there were far more people around who thought the way that you do.
Everyone thinks that he knows what is best for the birds. The biologist, the conservationist, the wildlife rehabilitator, the falconer, the bird watcher, etc. . . do not all agree, while they all may know quite a lot about birds. We have a hard time understanding behavior of members of our species, after all!
The only avian species with which we have had any opportunity to collect sufficient data on behavior is the chicken. Unfortunately, of chickens, we are in general not so concerned about behavior and quality of life(although there is a subculture who do keep chickens as pets –maybe they should start publishing their observations).
By the way, if the author is going to throw out statistics, she should state from which studies/surveys they come. Likewise, if she is going to make a lot of claims based on her impressions, than she should be clear that they are just her impressions. And we have covered misconceptions about pet trade (at least as they pertain to the States). There is a lot of over-generalization too. Parrots are not all birds. Should mammals be allowed on the furniture?
Don’t hate me for disagreeing, but this is just weak.
No-one here will hate you for disagreeing, Sara, that’s a promise! 10,000 Birds doesn’t - and never will - work like that.
Monica may well answer you later (I have no idea) but she is actually a long-standing expert in the field of avian welfare, and works with welfare experts from all around the world. These aren’t ‘impressions’ I assure you. Perhaps I should have provided a list of references etc but I didn’t ask Monica for one, so that’s down to me.
However I would like to argue with one of your comments: you say that “We have a hard time understanding behavior of members of our species, after all!” and that’s true in general but we have masses and masses of information from innumerable studies showing exactly what happens to people when they are put in solitary isolation in small cages - ask anyone working on penal reform and they’ll tell you that’s it’s not nice at all…
Cheers
Charlie, thanks for your reply. I do not think that the comparison of the cage to the psychiatric/correctional total institutions is appropriate in all cases, but it does depend on how the owner regards his bird (or let us just take psittacines, for this case). I find that parrots seem to treat their cages as their personal bedroom rather. It is where they want to go when they are upset or to take a nap or when they retire for the evening.
On the other hand, I agree that locking up a lone parrot in the cage at all times is not appropriate. My mother’s cockatiel does not have any cage. He has a perch station with toys and such, and he has expanded his territory to include the area above the cabinets too. And that is his “safe place” where he is in charge. Honestly, I suspect that his interesting behavior can be credited in part to the fact that he flies freely around the flat. There is a sub-culture of parrot-keepers who support the “free flight” method. No cages, no clipping . . . of course, there can be accidents this way too.
Nevertheless, anyone who has handled birds for a while either in aviculture or in rehabilitation of wild birds learns quickly that to generalize a class, an order, or even a species in some cases, is to over-generalize, especially when it comes to behavioral traits.
Hi Sara,
Due to the word count restriction and style of “Opposing Views” for which the piece was written, I was not able to include citations. The stats I cite in the article as well as many more that informed the opinion can be found in my paper “The Welfare and Suitability of Parrots as Companion Animals” available here:
http://www.bornfreeusa.org/mbw/downloads/WelfareAndSuitabilityOfExoticBirds.pdf
Thank you for the link. The article is fragmented, and I do not think that it is worthwhile to address all of my criticisms, but here is a laundry list for starters:
1. The lexicon of pathologies seems to be a synopsis of some of what we have learned as a result of keeping and treating birds, and you even agree. We have learned a good lot about avian nutrition and medicine as a result of aviculture. And avian science programs are sprouting up in American universities, finally!
2. The abolition approach to captive birds will not end illegal trade; regulation of the wild bird trade will have to be a global effort, and that’s it.
3. And birds are not like plants. A distressed Angiosperm will flower to chance procreation before death. An unhealthy and unhappy exotic bird, may copulate, but will not manage to procreate, at least not without extreme difficulty and while requiring some intensive assistance. So again, comparing an aviary or bird-cage to a breeding kennel, is not really appropriate.
But I was suspicious particularly about that 90% malnutrition figure. In your article, you reference a manuscript by Dr. G.J. Harrison who also, it seems, failed to qualify the statement “[a]ccording to experienced avian practitioners, malnutrition still underlies up to 90% of all clinical cases . . .” [.doc]. He later writes “[m]any veterinarians with private bird clients and large collections of birds with malnutritional diseases often fail to realize the progress made by manufactured diets in recent years.”
This is the same Dr. G.J. Harrison, co-author of Clinical Avian Medicine circulated by HBD publications distributed by and somehow affiliated with Harrisons Bird Products. It is a 2-volume text in which, I would say, authors walk a fine line between presentation of avian veterinary science and manufactured dietary product promotion. Dr. G.J. Harrison obviously has a marketing agenda, so I remain suspicious.
At least his agenda might benefit the birds in captivity. If any policy or legislation precipitated from your agenda, we will have to see what it will do for avian medicine and science and what the bureaucracy does for our captive birds and as well as the people who adore them.
@ Charlie- Do you actually think that requiring the use of my real name is going to scare me away from participating in this discussion? Hardly.
@ Monica- To take anything you have to say about proper care of birds is foolish. We might as well be listening to you ramble on about life on Mars because your knowledge of both subjects is equal. That isn’t a personal attack, that is just fact. Myself and others who are considered experienced in the realm of proper bird keeping, aviculture and the pet industry have had a field day defeating you and your friends at every turn. We have made you and your cronies look like incompetents in every legislative meeting and hearing. Your lack of any real practical knowledge of birds has been a great source of humor for all of us. I must tip my hat to you though. You have managed to parlay this lack of knowledge and usefulness into a full time job paid for by the ignorant of which you prey on. Congratulations! Perhaps you can one day explain to us how you manage to sleep at night.
@John Del Rio: Seeing as you are a climate change denialist and a fan of Glen Beck (thank you google and facebook) I really see no reason to take anything you say as remotely approaching fact. Have a nice day!
I’ve had dogs, a cat (discarded kitten found in a dumpster) and 2 Cockatiels (both captive breed, the 1st was a gift and the 2nd was bought as a companion for the 1st). I agree with many of the comments as my opinion is that the majority of people make lousy owners of most animals.
Cats are barely domesticated and they should NEVER be allowed outside but I know many people who equate that with keeping them in a ‘cage’. The fact is that there are more than 90 million pet cats in the U.S., the majority of which roam outside at least part of the time. In addition, millions of stray and feral cats roam our cities, suburbs, and rural areas. Scientists estimate that free-roaming cats kill hundreds of millions of birds, small mammals, reptiles and amphibians each year. Cat predation is an added stress to wildlife populations already struggling to survive habitat loss, pollution, pesticides, and other human impacts. Free-roaming cats are also exposed to injury, disease, parasites, getting hit by cars, or becoming lost, stolen, or poisoned. Millions of domestic cats are euthanized each year because there are not enough homes for them. All feral cats need to be either re-homed (indoor only) or euthanized and all domestic cats need to be kept indoors at least during breeding season.
I was quite young when I got the cat and he died at 10 in part because I allowed him outside where he was frequently injured & also picked up diseases. My brother has 2 wild, untrained Rottweiler dogs that should be euthanized–but then my brother is a complete mess and I can’t very well suggest that he be euthanized(!). I cared for the birds as best I could–they had free flight, I cooked for them everyday and they saw their vet more than I saw a doc. Still, I failed them due to my own living situation changing. I no longer have pets but I bird as often as possible and that’s pretty good.