Comments on: The Parrots And People Paradox

A Popular Pet, Parrots Can Live As Long As Humans And Require Time, Attention And Patience

[kbbpll]

Walked into a pet store in Santa Monica 20 years ago, and there was a bird there for $2500. My buddy laughs and says "In Australia, we shoot those for sport".

[detrafi]

I have to comment about Sally Blanchard's remarks. She earns money from selling advertising to BREEDERS. Little wonder she didn't like the piece. Breeders are a big part, if not the largest part of the whole problem! Quite a deal, really. The breeders pump out babies left and right and then sell them. They then quietly set themselves up as "rescues". After a few years, the unsuspecting people who buy these birds find they can't handle them and send them off to these 'rescues'. Well, the breeders then get a sexually mature bird that is ready to churn out babies that they didn't have to care for until it was ready. They make money from both ends. Not all Rescues are fronts for breeders, there are some very reputable ones, but there are a lot of so-called Rescues that are just that.....a back door back into the breeding cycle. If you really want a bird, then ADOPT ONE. I have two Blue and Gold Macaws that I adopted. Cost? $0. All I had to do was go and get them. Didn't pay a nickel for them. Breeders by their very nature don't want you to adopt, after all, each true adoption takes money out of their pockets!

[detrafi]

Being a caretaker of two conures and two Blue and Gold Macaws, and not to mention that I am a regular volunteer with one of only five accredited Parrot Rescues in the country, I find myself dismayed by all the negative comments here. I thought that this news story, however brief, did an excellent job of covering the big issues. I give it a hearty "WELL DONE!!". My birds are all rescues and having been around a lot of rescued birds, I find that I agree with Tweti. She hits the nail right on the head. There is a HUGE and growing problem with unwanted birds. You name the species and I can point you to someone who is looking to re-home it. I have seen first hand the results of abuse of these magnificent animals and it tears my heart out. I have fostered a rescued Scarlet Macaw that was horribly abused and have been forced by the courts to return that bird to the abusers. Just seach on the "31 Macaws" in Virginia.

The only reason I don't have more in my home is that I can't adequately provide care for more. That is why I volunteer. People do horrible things to these animals, either out of ignorance or greed. I applaud CBS News for bringing this issue into prime time. Bravo to Bill Whitaker.

[debinok1]

I do not care if you agree or disagree with me when I say: These animals are WILD, they belong IN THE WILD. This is no different than "owning" a Leopard or a Wolf. These animals were taken from the wild, their natural home, by force and sold to people who could breed them and make money. These animals are NOT domesticated in any sense of the word. They have been domesticated only to the point of being dependant on people for food. They could probably no longer survive in the wild because of this. Yes, they are beautiful animals, but enjoy them in their natural settings and leave them there. We as humans are not doing them any favors by trying to domesticate them.

[jabber48]

I can't help but wonder how much research was done before the purchase of her parrot. Reading this article it is obvious she did not research before buying. Was this an impulsive purchase? Very irresponsible, and CBS assumes she is an expert in this field. I DON'T THINK SO! Why did she buy the parrot? Did Mira think she could just put him in a cage to look at his beauty?Yes they do require work however the love and companionship cannot be put into words,
My parrot is part of our family and is leading a full life.
Shame on you CBS for even printing or listening to such dribble.

[Tiki_Bird]

It's really impossible to condense all the footage that would have contributed to this story into a 2.5 minute clip and have it make sense. It's poorly edited and I can see some comments possible being taken out of context. It's not true that the wild parrots were all thrown out by their owners, and this has been discussed on many specialist websites. The truth about the wild quakers is on www.brooklynparrots.com. There are sadly a lot of parrots in rescues but they are there for many reasons, sometimes the owner passes away and they have no where else to go. http://www.thegabrielfoundation.org/

Many people buy parrots with no clue on how to take care of them. They are beautiful, intelligent and appealing but they have their needs such as good nutrition, avian vet care and lots of love an patience. They are not easy pets to have but they are worth every dollar, every minute and every thing you put into their care as they will pay you back with love a hundred times over. If anyone wants to learn more about parrots, please visit our message board for pet parrots http://www.theperch.net/discussion/index.php and my website for parrot conservation and eco-tourism www.featheredandfree.com. We are more than happy to educate people on parrots and it is free to join our message board.

[Chacoosmom]

Mira Tweti is a self appointed expert and until about five years ago, no one had ever heard of her. She is AR through and through and this article is an example of that. No good bird owner would allow their bird to become so dependant on her. I have three birds, all of which love to be with me, but all of which are happy to play by themselves as well.

Birds can be messy, loud and hard to deal with, but they can be loving, fun and empathetic creatures who I can not imagine living without. Education is the key and many of us are educating the public in the right way. To just say that birds should not be in the home is just plain wrong.

As far as euthansia, I have not heard of any bird being put down because of lack of space in a rescue, unless the rescue does it. There are many good bird owners who will take in birds and rehome them for people, even if some of the so called top rescues will not and yes, many rescues turn away birds because the owners cannot afford to pay them to take the birds.

Perhaps CBS could find a real bird expert to speak with next time.

[sullika]

Dear Bill - What Humane Society? And who would just simply let their bird 'GO'. Although I agree that people who desire a parrot should know what they are getting themselves into from the start, and hopefully it is the responsible pet store selling the bird to ask and interview. I don't know of any rescue society where I live, but I would be happy to take in another older bird so I would not have to start out with a young one again. What's the problem?

[BE2Cassie]

Excellent report. Hopefully most will look beyond the people posting here with dollar bills as their motivator and see the plight of the parrots as shown. Education as well as support from others is so important when having these incredible creatures share your home. Having shared my home with numerous species of animals I can honestly say that parrots are not as easy as having a dog or cat, nor as cheap. People talk of laying down thousands when first acquiring these birds but no one talks of the thousands needed each year to keep them healthy and happy. We live in a sorry state of affairs when people allow themselves to be blinded to the numbers of birds ending up in rescues. So many that more and more rescues are being opened because the current rescues are overflowing. How many shelters and rescues out there can truly be no kill when they are being over whelmed. Breeding needs to stop!

[chinbunny1]

Not all shelters are overflowng with parrots and birds. There are two country shelters, and two rescue ones in my area. None of them ever see nor take in birds, unless they are pretty much forced to. The last time one shelter had to take in several birds was when their owner suddenly died. That was a few years ago. Other then that, no birds since then. To assume that shelters and rescues are loaded with them is inacurrate. Yes some may have quite a few birds. But responsible pet owners, shops, and breeders have hundreds of thousands more of them. birds in rescues are a huge minority compared to the amount that are kept as breeders, and pets. My quaker is caged. And he loves his cage. So to assume that they should never be kept as caged animals is also incorrect. You have to keep them somewhere for their own protection. You should to make sure the cage is the right size for the bird.

I also have a problem with them encouraging pet owners to take their birds in to have them killed by their vet should they decide they can no longer keep them any longer. I am sure this will make a lot of vets very unhappy with their clients should they chose to euthanize their pet instead just because the HSUS and CBS said it was OK to do so.

While I think it is OK to rescue birds, I do not think this segment was researched that well.