can you point out any difference between birds kept as pets and those at the zoo?
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JUL 11, 2019
The Ethics of Keeping Pet Birds: Is It Cruel to Keep a Bird in a Cage?
JENNIFER BRIDGES
My rescued cockatiel runs my life, and I'm a volunteer at a wildlife rehabilitation center.
Buzzy, the author's rescued cockatiel. (Notice that the cage door is open.)
Buzzy, the author's rescued cockatiel. (Notice that the cage door is open.)
Own work
Since I became a bird owner (or "parront," as some bird people like to say), I've encountered some people who disapprove of my animal companion. It's not that they don't like my cockatiel, but they don't like the fact that I keep a bird. I've heard all the following:
"Keeping birds as pets is cruel."
"Pet birds should be set free."
"Birds don't belong in cages or in our homes."
"People who keep birds are ignorant."
. . . and so on and so on. I even encountered one individual who seemed to think keeping pet or caged birds was doing pure evil.
Perhaps our ancestors should have admired the birds from a distance and left them in the wild. However, they brought them into their homes and bred and raised them, and in doing so, took away their ability to survive in the wild. Now we are responsible for keeping these birds safe.
Wild-Caught Birds
Let me get this out of the way first: I do not believe in taking a wild bird out of his natural habitat and putting him in somebody's home or a zoo (unless the bird has a permanent injury making him unable to survive in the wild*). Capturing a healthy wild bird is like kidnapping. It stresses the bird and contributes to the decline of wild bird populations.