a sad cruelty story..

[kali]

i was at work today and a lady came in looking for some cuttlefish for a galah. well, being the bird nut that i am, i stole the customer for myself and took her to the bird section.

she told me it's actually for her neighbour's galah. she said she is looking after it for a few days bcoz the owners don't care about it at all. they keep the poor thing in a BUDGIE CAGE in the backyard with no shelter from the rain or sun. his wings are clipped so occasionally they let him out on the grass. there are no toys in the cage and they are feeding him canary seed and nothing else. the lady tells me she let him out and gave him some apple and the poor bird ate it like he'd never had something so delicious. she said he looked so happy and is just craving attention.

she has also taken their dog off them a few years ago, spent thousands of dollars on surgery to correct the poor thing's teeth and eventually had to have it put down. people like this shouldn't be allowed to have animals when they treat them so badly!!

i told her to take the bird to the rSPCA and tell the owners the bird flew away. i also said if she doesn't want to do that i would take the poor thing and re home him. i have a 6 ft long aviary sitting empty in the backyard!!

i almost cry thinking about the poor baby. i tried to convince her to not give the bird back, or if she had to then to report her for animal abuse and they would come investigate them. she bought him some cuttlefish and a few little toys and a bell so i hope he doesn't suffer too much psychological damage from these people.

i really hope it turns out ok for the little baby. this sad story may have a happy ending yet!

[fluffy_stitch]

i agree she should call the spca,or tell them it flew off or something,it sounds like they wouldnt be bothered anyway.

[huntress]

Oh now see... this makes me sad. Thats why I have a huge friggin Bloodhound in my house. Because i knew her and couldn't stand the thought of her sitting cold and scared in the pound on cold concrete when she has been a couch potato all her life.

[kali]

she said shed keep me informed of what was happening. i really hope it turns out ok! if she says she's give the bird back to them i will find out where they live and deal with it myself!

[hcarey]

That poor bird! I would makes some calls if you don't hear anything soon. I find myself worrying about this poor baby! And thinking of giving up mine seems almost impossible. I can't risk the same thing happening to my Fids! I would never forgive myself. Thanks to everyone here especially the rehomers, you have opened up my eyes to what can happen and does happen. Please let us know if you hear anymore on this one.

[kali]

i have good news!

the lady came into my shop on sunday, and said she was giving the bird back the next day to the owners, she said they'd bught a larger cage for him and she's made the little girl promise to feed, clean and play with the bird every day. i hope this turns out ok, it's looking really promising and the lady said she'd keep an eye on the bird to make sure they're looking after him.

i was stressing so bad about this, i'm glad she came in to give me an update.

[Courtzrocks]

Thats good news! Its kinda how we got our galah. My grandads neighbours had a galah that was from the wild but couldnt fly. They had a decent size cage for her but they didnt bother feeding her or giving her water. So my grandad cut a small hole in the fence and put a tube through to pour water and seed into her bowls.

Eventually the neighbours just asked my grandad if he wanted her. My dad was young then and he tamed her. She was passed down the family to us. She died a few years ago but she was so gorgeous. It really sucks how people are allowed to keep animals when really, they would much rather not have them.

[kali]

i completely stand by my belief that if you want to have a pet, ANY PET, you should have to have a licence to own one. and that licence should involve at least one training session on the type of pet you want to own. there are too many people out there who get pets and have no idea how to treat them, or what they need, or that their temperment may not suit your home.. i see it allllll the time!

but i spose i'm preaching to the converted here...

[Lotis9]

Originally Posted by kali

i completely stand by my belief that if you want to have a pet, ANY PET, you should have to have a licence to own one. and that licence should involve at least one training session on the type of pet you want to own. there are too many people out there who get pets and have no idea how to treat them, or what they need, or that their temperment may not suit your home.. i see it allllll the time!

but i spose i'm preaching to the converted here...

I completely agree. There need to be more stipulations in place as you have said. So many people buy animals because they're cute, exotic, exciting, or they are just curious. On top of that there are just as many breeders who sell off animals to anybody. I think it is sad that rescues and adoption centers for all animals have more requirements set in place for taking an animal home than pet stores and breeders. Thus, I think that there should also be better breeder standards and restrictions for breeding and selling animals. Putting more requirements on breeders and pet stores would help treat the problem, not just the symptoms.

[Parapetenia]

Originally Posted by Lotis9

I completely agree. There need to be more stipulations in place as you have said. So many people buy animals because they're cute, exotic, exciting, or they are just curious. On top of that there are just as many breeders who sell off animals to anybody. I think it is sad that rescues and adoption centers for all animals have more requirements set in place for taking an animal home than pet stores and breeders. Thus, I think that there should also be better breeder standards and restrictions for breeding and selling animals. Putting more requirements on breeders and pet stores would help treat the problem, not just the symptoms.

Good to hear that the neighbor is trying to help this bird get a better life.

I understand what you mean with stricter requirements. The problem with government regulation, is funding and man-power. There is no way they could regulate this. Typically, the government thinks there is only one answer to regulating pet ownership, make it illegal. Instead of asking the government to regulate pet ownership, we as responsible pet owners need to educate the uninformed and boycott petshops that don't care about the animal after it leaves there. This many seem uneffective, but it isn't. Responsible pet owners are the ones who spend money. If you stop buying $900 bird cages, $2000 birds, $45 bags of dog food, $400 aquariums, etc. they will lose a significant source of income. Also, join LOCAL clubs. As a club, you can get dozens of people to also boycott these bad shops. And the biggest thing you can do, buy as much as you can from good shops. It might take 5-10 years, but eventually these bad shops will have to change their practices or go out of business. Support the good, boycott the bad. I have more to say on this, but time to go to work.