Flap Over ‘Cockateels’ and the Dark Side of Birds
The pet bird trade has a dark side your article failed to address.
In recent years, millions of birds have been taken from the wild to fill the growing demand for colorfully plumaged pets. Legal traffickers and unscrupulous smugglers deplete dwindling wild bird populations throughout the world. Countless birds die during capture and transport, and those that survive face lifelong incarceration.
Many veterinarians and animal behaviorists believe captivity is grueling for numerous species, particularly parrots, which are among the most intelligent and sociable of birds. The boredom of confinement can lead to aggression toward humans and home furnishings, and even to self-mutilation, to say nothing of raucous squawking that disturbs neighbors.
A growing number of thoughtful persons agree that wild birds should not be kept for human amusement. Birds, after all, evolved to fly and soar in expansive skies, not flit and sit in expensive cages.
GARY D. SUTTLE
San Diego
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