A very good article on bird abuse....

[blueroseaviary]

http://home.hawaii.rr.com/peepuff/abuse.html

My Experience with Bird Abuse

Why would anyone want to abuse birds?

What is Bird Abuse

When You No Longer Want Your Bird

Other Links

Argh, such an unpleasant subject to be writing about! I recently had the unfortunate experience of learning about bird abuse first-hand, from someone I associated with. This person had told me she once had a parakeet that bit her everytime she tried to change the water or feed dish, and it made her mad. So mad one day that she put the cage in the shower and turned it on. Just left the bird in the shower with the water running. I asked her what happened to the bird. She said, "oh it probably died from having a heart attack from the shower." Then I learned she had two lovebirds that she left outside, in a cage. She said they bit her too, so she would flick her finger at their beaks. That would be like you and me getting a slap in the face. It is burning me up to be typing this now, but I have to tell you how being a parrot owner has affected me.

Anyway, I asked her about the lovebirds. I asked her to sell them to me. She was glad to get rid of them. They came to me in a filthy cage with a filthy water bowl crusted with feces, tiny food dish, no toys and no cuttlebone. Nothing. Two perches and bare wire. I was secretly relieved when she told me she wanted the cage back. Relieved also when I asked her if she was going to get any more birds. She said no, the cage was going to her cousin, who wanted cockatiels. I had to find a replacement cage for the loves. I put the cage outside in the meantime, because of the smell. You know it is dirty if a bird cage smells bad. That evening my husband was aghast to find about 20-30 large cockroaches on the cage floor, eating the feces. To think those lovebirds spent most of their time in the cage every night with giant roaches!

Thank God there are people like Deborah Robinson (Scooby's breeder) who offered to find homes for them. She took them to a vet; provided a warm, safe, clean environment with fresh food and water; love and toys for them. She has rescued birds in the past before, finding homes for all of them. Without people like her, this world would be a really cold and mean place, especially for little and big birds.


Why Would Anyone Want to Abuse/Mistreat Birds?
Some people don't know they are causing intentional harm, like stuffing the bird in a cage that is too small, feeding the bird toxic foods like alcohol and chocolate, smoking in the house, ignoring the bird's need for mental stimulation and play. Some people purchase parrots not having the faintest idea that they are messy. They also make noise, they can bite, they need lots of attention and are fairly high-maintenance. When the bird "acts up" they don't know how to deal with it, so they abuse the bird. Some people are just plain disturbed, like the person who put the bird cage in the shower. I was sickened to read how cruelly some of the birds were treated before they came to The Gabriel Foundation. There was a bio on a white cockatoo that was burned with cigarettes and sprayed with bleach. How sick is that? PLEASE!! Please read this page before you buy! !! Note: THE LOUD sounds will scare you on the page...turn down the speakers! The writer is trying to make a point...a good one at that...another page...makes my eyes tear and water

We don't hear much about abuse of pets, especially birds, unless it makes the news, like this story about the disturbed, seriously cruel man that put the Quaker in the microwave oven. Because it is so easy to stuff a bird in a cage, they can't run or hide, which makes them easy targets for cruelty.

My neighbor, two doors down used to yell obscenities at his macaw. I would hear him saying, "Shut the F*&K up!!" to the bird. Sometimes other expletives. I wonder how the bird is being treated inside the house. I wonder if he is hitting the bird. UPDATE (July 2002) - it was not a macaw as I had thought, but wow, is it loud...I saw the parrot on the lady of the house's arm, it is a really beautiful male Solomon Island Eclectus, and is being treated well. I don't hear her son yelling at the bird anymore.


What is Bird Abuse?
Some examples of abuse/abusive situations:

1) Hitting the bird or beak. I had to supress my natural instinct to swat at Scooby everytime he would nip me a little too hard.

2) Neglect. Locking the bird up in a cage without providing toys or excerise or human contact.

3) Improper Living Conditions. Stuffing the bird in a tiny cage, offering no room for wing expansion or moving around freely. Stuffing the bird in a basement with no sunlight. Exposing the bird to extremes in weather conditions. Filthy cage and food bowls. Forcing the bird to share a cage with an aggressive bird that physically maims the secondary bird. I saw a program on animal planet where a cockatoo lost her leg to amputation because of another cockatoo (aggressive male) who chewed her leg to bits.

4) Allowing young children to mistreat the bird. Teasing, harrassing, rough handling of the bird can cause a myriad of problems from feather picking to death. Certain loud animals can also stress out parrots, like the one I heard about: a parrot went to live with two German Shepards that barked at the bird constantly, and the parrot picked all its feathers off.

5) Malnutrition. Feeding the bird an improper diet, not changing the water or food, starving the bird to death (the seed dish may look full, when in reality it was full of empty seed hulls).

6) Not providing medical care when the bird is sick. Sometimes owners don't have a clue until the bird is too sick, as they are masters in disguising their illnesses. But when obvious sickness affects the bird and medical care is withheld, that is abuse.

7) Exposing the bird to a bad environment. Smoking in the home, spraying pesticides and roach killers, air fresheners around the bird, keeping the bird in a garage (carbon monoxide fumes).

8) Yelling and screaming at the bird. If someone is yelling and screaming at the bird, they need to chill out seriously or find a new home for the bird.

9) Punishment of the bird. Putting the bird in a shoebox or dark closet for "time out", withholding food.

10) Releasing the bird into the wild when you no longer want it anymore. The bird will probably die if it doesn't survive starvation, predators and disease. Only harm can be done to the bird and possibly to the environment with the release of pet birds into the wild.


Who Abuses Birds?
- someone who didn't want them in the first place. Not all folk fall into this category, as some people really learn to love their pets.

- someone with no clue about how to care for parrots and understand the short-comings of possible bird ownership: they can be messy, loud, bite, etc. Do your research first to learn the temperments of different species.

- someone who has no time to care for birds/parrots and neglects them.

- someone who physically causes harm to birds either through direct trauma, exposure to harsh and chemical environments, exposure to aggressive children and other animals.

- someone who sees a parrot as a status symbol and as some kind of exotic decoration to be discarded later with no knowledge or care of the bird. There was a story on the mytoos.com page about a well-to-do owner who had no ideas who to treat parrots. They kept the cockatoo in a cage in the garage, where the bird was exposed to carbon monoxide, which is POISON!

There was a controversial "win a parrot contest" sponsored by Corona Beer. Some folk believe that this kind of blatant "pet giveaway" is very bad and some say the store giving the macaw away in a beer contest is doing everything it can to make sure the owner is "qualified", whatever that means to the store. This is the info I got off rec.pets.birds (quoted by the poster)

"Please see this offensive ad at www.wrat.com
A local radio station, WRAT based in Belmar, N.J. ( promotions director Sjonvall, Doug (DS13444) WRAT-FM 1731 Main Street South Belmar,, NJ 07719 732-681-3800 (FAX) 732-681-5995 ) is offering a live parrot ( a macaw) as a prize in a contest promotion for Corona beer. Corona beer contact: estherkinzie@corona.com
The pet store that is donating these birds to the contest. 88 Pet World 2076 Route 88 Brick, New Jersey 08724 Phone: (732) 899-1920.
Please call these people and protest this inhumane action. The Jeresey Department of Environmental Prorection should also know your feelings. 908-735-5450"

Note: since 7/14/01 (when I last checked), the contest was over, or the information was no longer on-line. Either someone won the parrot or they pulled the contest. I am leaving this up here as a note however, for information.

Update: 3-1-2003. I was at PETA's website and I read the following, which made me sick:



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NY Animal Torturer Faces Slap on Wrist

Long Island police arrested Timothy Guider, 18, after an alleged New Year's Eve incident during which he set his family's parakeet afire and posted images of the attack on a Web site. GuiderÑwho was throwing a party in his parents' absenceÑreportedly coated the bird with hair spray and burned the animal alive, killing her. According to news sources, in addition to posting "[p]hotographs of the bird being burned and a laughing Guider holding [her] charred body," Guider and his friends "also took the dead bird to another party to show it off."

New YorkÕs Agriculture and Markets laws define felony cruelty to animals as "intentionally [killing] or intentionally [causing] serious physical injury to a companion animal with aggravated cruelty." The provision defines Òaggravated cruelty" as "conduct which is intended to cause extreme physical pain, or is done or carried out in an extremely depraved or sadistic manner," and "companion animal" is defined as Òany dog or cat, [or] any other domesticated animal normally maintained in or near the household of the owner or person who cares for such other domesticated animal."

Unbelievably, and despite the law's clear wording, Timothy Guider has been charged with a misdemeanor for this crime. PETA's many calls to the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office have gone unreturned, and there is no indication that prosecutors will upgrade this charge. Please urge Suffolk County Attorney Thomas Spota to immediately upgrade Guider's charge to felony cruelty to animals, and remind him why such crimes need to be dealt with swiftly and vigorously (click here to see our related factsheet).

The Honorable Thomas Spota
Suffolk County District Attorney
Suffolk County District AttorneyÕs Office
Building #77 N County Complex
Hauppauge, NY 11787
Fax: 631-853-5117


Copies of all letters should be sent to the assistant prosecutor assigned to this case:

Jeff Langlan, Assistant District Attorney
Suffolk County District AttorneyÕs Office
400 Carleton Ave.
Central Islip, NY 11722
Fax: 631-853-5844


May Timothy Guider's name live on in infamy - here, there and everywhere. You sick, disgusting, person!


Kappa Sigma Fraternity Abuses Animals

PETA has been bombarded with complaints about the most recent case of cruelty to animals involving the Kappa Sigma fraternity.Seven Kappa Sigma members and pledges at Davidson College in Davidson, N.C.ÑJohn North Moore III, Graham Lambert Hunter,Oscar Hernandez, Thomas Carroll Jeter, George Stephen Tolson, Jacob Charlson, and Andrew MinceyÑwere arrested and chargedwith felony cruelty to animals and conspiracy to commit cruelty to animals after they allegedly lured a white goose away from herfamily with bread crumbs at a local park and then beat her to death with a golf club.

This is the third time in three years that PETA has been alerted to incidents of cruelty to animals involving members of Kappa Sigma. In spring 1999, two members of the Kappa Sigma chapter at Middle Tennessee State University admitted to suspending anopossum from a tree, swinging him, passing him around, and repeatedly slamming him into the tree. Three years later, in October2002, PETA sent Kappa SigmaÕs Executive Director Mitchell Wilson a video CD that it had received, showing members of the Beta Chi chapter of Kappa Sigma at the University of Missouri at Rolla affixing fireworks and small rockets to the back of a turtle.

In both instances, PETA urged Kappa Sigma to set an example by taking severe disciplinary action against the offenders and to prevent future crimes against animals by Kappa Sigma members by amending the fraternityÕs mission statement to include language about the humane treatment of animals. Unfortunately, PETAÕs requests met with silence. What has been the result of thisinaction? On February 7, 2003, seven brothers of the Kappa Sigma chapter at Davidson College coaxed a goose toward them withbread and then beat her to death with a golf clubÑa premeditated, vicious crime.

Every day, PETA warns law-enforcement officers and prosecuting attorneys about the importance of taking crimes against animalsseriously in order to avert repeat offenses and prevent the escalation from crimes against animals to crimes against humans. ItÕstime for Kappa Sigma to take immediate action.

Please call or send a polite letter to Mitchell Wilson, Kappa SigmaÕs executive director. Urge him to take long-overdue measures toprevent future incidents of animal abuse by revoking the Davidson College chapterÕs charter and adding language requiring the humane treatment of animals to the fraternityÕs mission statement:

Mitchell B. Wilson, Executive Director
Kappa Sigma International Memorial Headquarters
2443 Ivy Rd.
Charlottesville, VA 22903
Tel.: 434-295-3193, ext. 111
Fax: 434-296-9557
E-Mail: mailbox@imh.kappasigma.org


I have fallen out of the religious circle for more than a half of my life's worth, but I truly believe there is a hell reserved for people like him, organizations like Kappa Sigma, and other people who abuse animals, especially birds, who are helpless, caged, and can't fight back. They are dependent on us to provide them with food, water, attention and love. This kind of thing really makes me sick. Makes me think that the world is a sick sick place to be. My husband keeps telling me that this world is also filled with wonderful, caring people. Humans have the capacity to destroy as well as to protect and love. Sometimes, without him, I think I would go crazy. He is my ballast in life, my stabilizer. My positive, bright, side. I post here because I want the world to know how I feel about things like these...about people like Timothy Guilder, stores like PETCO, people who think it's OK to buy a pet parrot and abandon it after the novelty wears off...which comes to:



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When you no longer want your bird...
There are many reasons why you can't take care of your bird any longer. Maybe you found a new love interest and the bird is aggressive towards the new person. Maybe there is a new child/baby in the home and suddenly you find that you don't have the time to care for your bird and provide the attention you once did. Perhaps there is a change in financial status, or mental status. Maybe you have become ill or older and unable to care for your bird like you once did. Sometimes it is due to sheer life circumstance beyond your control. Sometimes it is not. That is why I IMPLORE you to consider the many pros/cons of taking care of a parrot. It is not easy. It takes a lot of time, attention, love and the understanding that these animals come from the WILD. They are not your cute cuddly puppy or sweet kitty. These animals are highly intelligent creatures (no offense to your dog or cat) who have a structured, social status/interaction, which is complicated. They communicate by making noises (read: scream and yell), bite for various reasons (sometimes drawing blood), make tons of messes by flinging food and poop everywhere (they have a fast metabolism), and bite and tear things up (to keep their beaks trim and in shape).

If it is because you now have to take two jobs, have become ill, become older (most birds will outlive us), can't deal with the guilt that you no longer can provide your bird with the love and attention, please find a good home for your bird!

Please don't release your bird into the wild. They can die out there. They can proliferate and become pests, endangering native wildlife and species.

Contact your local pet shop/veternarian/breeder to see if they know of someone who can adopt or put the bird up for placement, follow some links below, esp. of Avian Web's links that have state listings of Parrot Rescue/Adoption agencies that can help you.

Email me if you live in Hawaii and need to find a home for your bird you no longer want.

Remember that birds are little lives dependent on everything you do or don't do. Treat them how you as a living being would like to be treated, with clean water and food, a warm safe place and a nurturing environment. If you can't provide that, hopefully you will let someone else take care of the bird.

[birdyland]

I read that whold thing and now I've got a headache.... from frowning. I am disgusted with the bad and misinformed people of the world.

[birdfreak2]

I also read this story you wrote, it just broke my heart. How can people be so cruel? :eusa_wall I kiss my conure and all birds everyday, many times a day, I love my babies and promise to them that I will give them the best care possible. I hate to see neglect to birds, that's the worst thing a human can do to something so helpless. I go in town from time to time, I visit a pet shop were they sell birds. There's an africian grey there who has no feathers. He looks so pitiful, he shivels cause I guess he's cold. I wonder how come that bird looks that way, abuse is the first thing that came to my attention. I talk to him and they say he talks back, he looks at me so sadly. I swear if I had the money to blow I'd buy that bird, and I would give him a wonderful life. hope that for all the cruel people who does harm to animals and to humans as well, I hope you all burn in a fury blaze for ever win you die. My heart goes out to all the neglected birds out there, may god find you better homes and loving people to be with...!!!!!!!!!!!!! God Bless them all

[Tiki]

Jill, thank you for supplying us with this wake up call. Although (hopefully) birdboard members love and cherish their fids, unfortunately not all birds are lucky enough to end up with people like us. I wish birds had some say in who they get to live with. I haven't heard of many instances like those in the article happening in Australia, but they may just not make the news even though they happen anyway. I do know of breeders who "cull" what they consider to be inferior specimans---not sick, deformed or anything serious---I mean the bird is the wrong colour or the feathers don't lie the right way. These birds could be lovely pets but the breeders don't care, they just don't want these "inferior specimans" to breed and ruin the species. I called the RSPCA to report this man who had given a lecture at my bird club, they said that as long as he does it humanely (?!?) it is not against the law. I was so furious! I don't know what to do if the law doesn't protect innocent birds.

[Tracey]

Jill-

Thank you so much for posting this material. It is very sad and hard to read, but necessary. Unfortunately, parrot abuse and neglect is all around us. I have a good friend who owns a small parrot supply store and she rescues parrots form local people. She gets 5-6 calls a week from people wanting her to take their "bad" birds. The reason given are the bird is messy,noisy, doesn't like someone in the house, or they have just gotten sick of it. I am not saying every bird my friend rescues is abused, but a large number of them are. I wish more breeders would care about the future of the babies they produce. I also wish that people would teach their children proper respect for every living creature. I get overwhelmed when I think of all of the animals who are neglected or abused. My Godparents were (are) hippies. They taught me Buddhism when I was just a kid. I have always felt that animals are equal to us in the eyes of divine. We don't have the right to abuse one of God's creatures. My hope is that karma will catch up to people who are cruel, unkind or abusive to any creature for any reason. Until then, education is the only answer. Also, it starts with us as responsible loving bird keepers. Show love and respect by example. And prosecute the abusers as criminals. JMHO

[luvinmykeet]

Oh no! I read it all..

WHY would someone get a BIRD and get mad at it for making noise!!
well DUH!!!!!!!!
I must say, Scooter can get annoying, but I would NEVER hurt her intentionally!!! matter of fact, I would kill anyone who hurt her!

[red178]

I am new to this birdboard and I am not sure if other members of our club are here too; but I suspect some are.
Its true that abuse and neglect are abundant. We see bird collectors, people who mean well but cant or dont care for their birds properly every day.
You have posted the article about the Long Island boy who torched the parakeet. I can give you an update. One of our members (LI Parrot Society)started a petition immediately after he was charged with that misdemeanor. She posted it on websites, placed it in stores, vets offices, wherever. So many signatures were obtained that the crime was upgraded to a felony. Sometimes, there is justice, but not enough of the time. Our org does team taught seminars, called Parrot University(TM). Essentially we discuss why you SHOULD NOT HAVE A PARROT AS A PET. If anyone is still left at the end of our mostly negative seminar and STILL wants a parrot, we then proceed to the next step of insisting on education. Educated parrot slaves remain with their pets longterm.e

[Amazonwar9]

i feel sick to my stomach. Mr. Guider is lucky i wasn't at his little "party."

I have noticed among my friends and other people a common feeling that birds are some kind of substandard, stupid creatures, deserving of nothing better than lying on a dinner plate. Once, my best friend actually threatened (jokingly, but still) to put my parakeets in the microwave! I don't think he gets it.

btw, has anybody heard the new Hardee's commercial involving the chicken? case in point.

What in the world has spawned this massive disrespect for life?

[Monica]

I know how that is! My grandmother jokes about our dog, or even our cats having my birds for supper, and then laughs about it. I've never really cared for my grandmother, but with all these jokes, it only makes me dislike her more (though dislike isn't really the word I choose to use). And if I were to ever back-talk her, she'd go into all these things about not caring for others, having no respect, etc.


As far as birds themselves, I know of 2 cockaitels on a WILD bird seed diet, and you can tell how bad this diet is for them because their stomachs are now yellow (these are both normal greys). I can't recall anyone cleaning the cage besides myself, and I don't even know who is feeding them and giving them water besides myself. It's quite disgusting and they want to breed these two birds in a budgie nestbox (which I took down unbeknown to them-explained later that the female has probably laid enough eggs so it wouldn't be a good idea to put the nestbox back up).

I know of another cockatiel that was found by the wrong family. They keep cats, the cats breed and have kittens, the kittens grow up and breed, and have kittens... Never ending cycle, the cats have excess outside 24/7... They found a beautiful male cockatiel, bought a 'finch' cage, and stuck him in. Unbeknownst to them, Tom started laying eggs (they wouldn't believe me that it was a female...).

I've seen 7 other birds that are not in a good home themselves, though the largest, an alexandrine, has it made out the best (minus of course his diet, water, and amount of attention that he doesn't get-not including lack of toys, or perches).

[morekare]

I read the articles about the bird abusers. I would love to be Satan in charge of these bird abusers' punishments. Both my husband and my son say that I am Satan. Maybe so. Oh, to be able to spray the young man with hairspray and set him on fire is minor compared to what I have in mind for him. And the young people that beat the pet goose, well, let's say beating these young people would be a pleasurable experience for them compared to what I have in mind. Yet, the more I think about ways to inflict suffering on these creeps, the more I realize these young people have sub-animal mentalities. For some unexplainable reason there are individuals born without a conscience. A conscience is what separates animals from humans, so they say. I doubt this, however. I believe that most animals (including birds and excluding humans) are born with an innate conscience, whereas humans must work to develop their conscience. Animals are created by God with souls that have direct communion with God, unlike humans who must pray and ask God for forgiveness. Animals behave innocently unlike humans who have ulterior intentional motives for their behaviors. What good does it do to punish these sub-human young people? They have no soul. They are more than 7 years old the age of reason. Therefore, I truly believe they are beyond redemptive value and must be kept away from innocent hard-working loving humans. These bird abusing people are not even as loving as the innocent animals that they intentionally inflicted their suffering upon. What is the solution for these sub-human young people? I am a medical professional and I have been a Consultant for the health department for many years. I have seen the pathetic likes of these individuals in our mental institutions. They begin as animal abusers and wind up abusing innocent people. The pain these kinds of animal abusers cause to innocent people and the families of their victims is indescribable. Rather than wait until these animal abusers torture and kill your child or your parents or your family, it is much more appropriate to institutionalize them permanently away from the rest of law-abiding loving society. I truly believe that these young people must be institutionalized and not allowed to remain a part of our society. It is a known fact that studies have proven that animal abusers eventually abuse humans. This is a proven fact. So, then why does the court allow these types of criminals to go on to inevitably torture and kill their neighbor or a school child or innocent elderly person or whoever will become their victim? Take a stand and put these animal abusers away permanently for the good of society. These animal abusers are like poultry that get a tiny taste of blood and the next thing you know they have cannabalized another flock member until the whole flock is bloody and dead. So I firmly believe that it is right and necessary for the court to draw the line at animal abuse not as merely a felony with serving a few years in prison, but more appropriately, permanently placing these people in institutions for the rest of their lives to prevent the INEVITABLE pain and suffering they will eventually inflict on innocent humans!