The Angry Parrot - Puppy Mills and Parrot Mills

Pet the dog, eat the cow - confused relationships with animals
By Crispin Sartwell
07/27/2007

The Michael Vick dogfighting case, and all of the attention on dogfighting and its attendant practices, show one thing very clearly: As a society, we have no idea what we think about animals. We don't know how much we ought to take them into account, morally. We don't even know how to figure it out.

I watched cable news recently, and almost every anchor interviewed an official of the Humane Society, and all expressed horror, especially that Vick's indictment had accused him and his fellow defendants of executing dogs in ways apparently designed to be as cruel as possible: drowning, strangling, electrocution. One official compared the practice to child pornography.

Then I went into town for some lunch, driving past all of the franchises peddling ground cow for human consumption - the same ones you'll find on every American highway exit.

If killing dogs is the equivalent of child pornography, while eating cows is simply a way to put off mowing the lawn, we seem to be conflicted - or reeking with hypocrisy and confusion.

We have a set of intuitions, driven partly by our interactions with pets, that many animals can experience pain in a morally significant way, that they can suffer, or be used and degraded. Perhaps they have somewhat less of a claim on us than human beings do, but they make a claim.

But another set of intuitions is driven by our dietary habits or our experience of thumping squirrels and armadillos on the road: that an animal is little more than an inanimate object, and can be used in whatever way a human being sees fit.

Our moral evaluation of animals seems to vary with their proximity to ourselves - both their everyday interactions with us and their perceived similarity to us - so that by the time you're done attributing love, loyalty and inferential reasoning to your dog, you have recognized her as a de facto human being, a member of the family. It works both ways, and your dog recognizes you as leader of the pack.

Cows have big, sad eyes, but less personality of the sort that arouses our recognition. And these days, unless you're directly involved in the farming and food industry, your interaction with cows is limited to, let's say, the drive-through lane.

In practice, the moral claims of animals vary by species and track our sense of the animal's proximity - cognitive, emotional, physical - to ourselves. We become truly sentimental: We write memoirs with our dogs, talk baby-talk to them, let them lick our faces. But about other species we are as hard-nosed as possible. Essentially, we do whatever we feel like to them whenever we want.

But there is no rational justification for this distinction. Pigs aren't more stupid, or less emotionally complex or less capable of experiencing pain than dogs, but they seem to lack that certain something (well, all except Charlotte's Wilbur).

One might simply rest the problem with dogfighting on its effects on human beings - as in, "Dogfighting is debasing not to the pit bull but to the quarterback who participates."

But if we really believed cruelty to animals debased humans who participate, we'd have to accept that our massive, industrial-scale systems of cruelty to cows deeply debase all humanity.

If there were an argument for dogfighting, I suspect it would go like this: The dog is bred to fight; we admire its violence and participate in it; it is a primal and even noble enactment of our life here on Earth.

Perhaps the dog would rather die than lose, like the world's greatest athletes or businessmen.

This resembles the animal-rights argument: It reads a dog's motivations as though they were human. But it has a different sense of what it means to be human.

We need to decide: (a) Do animals count? and (b) How, exactly, not as dwarfish, or four-legged, or stupid people, but as real things whose existence is, though connected to ours, profoundly external and different?

Until we grapple with these questions, our condemnation of Vick and our tender treatment of Beau the miniature dachshund are equally irrational.

---
CRISPIN SARTWELL teaches philosophy at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa. He wrote this for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Woof stores go poof: Turn tail after Herald report
Click here to read the story.

Pet Store Fined For Keeping Pup From Care
Hackensack, New Jersey - Rufus Inc pleaded guilty yesterday in Bergen County Municipal Court to animal cruelty charges and agreed to pay $9,800.00, the largest fine ever collected by the Bergen County SPCA.

In Memory of Bailey,
a victim of the Pet Trade.

Click here to read his story.

Number of cats and dogs entering shelters each year:
6–8 million (HSUS estimate)

Number of cats and dogs euthanized by shelters each year:
3–4 million (HSUS estimate)

Check out these websites for more information about Puppy Mills and learn how you can make a difference.

As for euthanasia, I'm all for euthanasia when it's done for reasons defined by Merriam Webster Dictionary; Main Entry: eu·tha·na·sia Pronunciation: "yü-th&-'nA- h(E-) & Function: noun Etymology: Greek, easy death, from euthanatos, from eu- + thanatos death more at THANATOS : the act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals (as persons or domestic animals) in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy. eu·tha·na·sic /-zik, -sik/ adjective.

When the only choice is a life of being miserably rehomed over and over again, to live in deplorable conditions perhaps some may choose to be humanely killed, if they could make that choice. Many of us might make a similar decision. The animals however cannot do that.

Relieving people from the responsibility they undertook when they purchased this animal are we not making the disposable pet mentality acceptable?

We need to focus on the big picture here, something that the dog and cat people were perhaps unable to do 50 years ago.

The humane orgs which kill MILLIONS of dogs and cats every year have made it oh so convenient for the public to never be tainted by the bloodshed. These pets are left at these shelters with the notion that their pet may be adopted. They leave content that Lady or Fluffy will soon be frolicking with children in a perfect home when the truth is that they are in body bags in the freezer.

We don’t want to make killing parrots this convenient. The people who purchased these parrots need to shoulder the responsibility of living with a captive wild animal and get really angry at the Pet Trade for deceiving them in the first place.

“Could you look at some of our problem birds with health/behavioral issues and recommend treat, re-home or euthanize.”

From the Animal Rescue League of Boston to a person seeking placement of a bird;

“You can bring the bird here. It is $10.00 to surrender a bird. The ones who are not friendly will probably not pass for adoption and would be euthanized.”

Most Parrots Form Strong Bonds With One Person, They Will Not Be Friendly With Strangers. Most Parrots Brought Into The Dog And Cat Humane Orgs Will Be Considered Aggressive.
www.avianwelfare.org

We have all seen the baby parrots in pet stores. They are so darn adorable- helpless, cuddly creatures who crave our attention. They tug at our heartstrings as they beg for warm foods and snuggle up to us. We have read numerous articles on their intelligence and are in awe of their ability to converse in our languages. We are well aware of how breathtakingly beautiful they are when they are fully feathered adults.

But are you aware that the hundreds or even thousands of dollars you are spending on this delightful “pet” may likely be a waste of your money? You are only gambling your hard-earned cash in the hopes that your new purchase will retain those cuddly- baby attributes.

Parrots are wild animals, even if they were hatched in captivity. Their natural desires to fly and live in conspecific flocks (flocks with other birds of the same species) remain intact. As a wild animal, they do indeed grow up.

A wild parrot is naturally hatched in a quiet dark tree cavity. This parrot chick is almost NEVER alone. A parent and siblings are there in this safe quiet place to feed and nurture each other. As time goes by this chick grows flight feathers, practices short hops in the cavity with siblings and eventually learns to leave the nest and fly on his own. He does not leave his family at a young age- rather the fledgling will live safely with the parents for months or even years, depending on the species. One day his hormones kick in. He is eating and surviving quite well on his own, and now the time has come to leave the flock and start a new family. And so off he flies.

A Captive Parrot

A parrot bred in captivity is removed from the parents at a very early age. If they are lucky enough to have even met their parents, they are typically taken or “pulled” well before weaning. Many times, parrots are taken as eggs before they are hatched and artificially incubated. The chick is then “handfed”, a term used by breeders to give the impression of a gentle, nurturing experience. The reality is that baby parrots are rarely fed with loving hands, the babies are fed by a syringe. In large scale breeding operations, they are often gavage fed (tube fed) with little or no conspecific, or even human, contact.

Instead of the constant warmth and safety of a parent always nearby in the warm dark tree cavity, the captive bred chick is typically placed in small brightly lit plastic enclosures alone. Rather than the reassurance of a parent and siblings, he only receives contact with a warm body briefly when he is fed. When he tries to fly, his wings are clipped to prevent further attempts. Now he is a prey animal who is deprived of the only defense he once had. Since he can no longer fly, his only defense now is his beak. Humans inadvertently teach birds to bite. Shouldn’t we expect a prey animal being raised by predators to have impaired behavioral, and/or psychological development?

This confused and emotionally deprived chick is then sold to a person who undoubtedly loves this baby bird. This person, who we will name Sally, raises this baby parrot with the best of intentions. In the beginning the relationship thrives.

Time goes by and soon, months or years later this baby parrot becomes sexually mature. He says to Sally in his own parrot way “Thanks Mom. I love ya but it’s time for me to hit the road and find me a cute little Rosalita.” And off he flies.

Stunned, he attempts this over and over. Surging through his veins is the instinct to leave the nest and reestablish himself in a flock- yet he cannot. Frustrated and angry, he tries to make Sally understand that he needs to leave the nest and screams and bites her. Had Sally taken the time to learn a parrot’s natural body language, she would have understood this request. Sally had taught her bird to speak English, but did not have the ability to understand his own language.

The language of a wild parrot involves such subtleties as slight fluffs of the plumage, variation in pitch of vocalization beyond our hearing abilities, tail fanning, various bodily postures or pupil dilation. Humans cannot possibly understand or even notice each of these subtleties and accurately decode them. After months, or even years of frustration, Sally is at her wits end and does not see any other option than giving up her precious “baby” bird.

Off he goes to live with Joan, John or Carmine. The individual doesn’t matter- all that matters to him is that he has found a new flock. From the bird’s point of view he has left the parents and has found a mate at last! WOO HOO! Life is bliss for a while until the bird becomes frustrated yet again, and the search for a suitable mate continues. So off he flies.

This scenario is typical of the vast majority of parrots in captivity. This results in thousands of unwanted, psychologically damaged, and/or physically aggressive parrots. These birds typically end up being “stored” in peoples closets, basements or garages in an effort to deal with the incessant screaming and aggressive behavior that goes along with psychosis from a captive existence. Many of these birds often end up being sold to breeders, perpetuating the problem, by their loving guardians who simple lost their confidence with the bird. Bird breeders often jump at the chance to take any free bird with which to make a profit.

Michael Schindlinger, an Ethologist at Harvard University, is quoted from “The Fire and The Wings”, a documentary video outlining problems with parrots and the pet trade. He explains how he councils people with screaming birds:

“Behaviors in an ecological context [are] often the only way to understand, for example, why your parrot is screaming. Lets look at the environment from which this species of parrot has come. Turns out, large individual home ranges with long distance communication between neighbors. They’re not usually calling to the bird to the bird three feet away, they’re calling to the bird three hundred yards, or a half a mile away….In that context we can see screaming not as inappropriate behavior, but appropriate behavior in the wrong habitat.”

Many of these birds suffer for many, many years without ever receiving solace. They are hidden from the public’s eyes and slowly degenerate, losing the very characteristics that draw our species to theirs- freedom, dignity, beauty, loyalty and gracefulness. Their spirit has been broken. The majestic creatures are cursed with an average captive lifespan of fifty to seventy five years, sometimes longer.

Greg Glendell, one of the world’s leading avian behaviorists, has this to say of parrots in captivity:

“That Amazon….that Grey, in the PETsMART store, or the breeders garage, born and raised by some alien mammal whose own legitimacy on this planet is suspect itself, still flies over the rainforests it evolved in 130 million years ago.

Every feather on it’s body, every last cell in it’s being has evolved to allow the bird to fly at high speed through a pristine world we have already degraded. A birds dedication to flight is as utter and entire as it is possible to imagine. In the four and a half billion years of this planet’s existence, nothing has come close to birds and their flying lifestyle. The shape, the streamlining, the breathing, the air sacs, the massive chest muscles, the nucleated red blood cells, the paper thin skin, even the air in it’s very bones and those 170-images-a-second-eyes that scan the world at a speed we cannot fathom, these things are that Blue Fronted Amazon, that Grey which sits grimly with mutilated wings in some shopping-trolley sized cage. A thousand years of grim ‘domestication’ will not take away that birds dedication to it’s 130 million years of evolution, just as a thousand years of domestication hasn’t stopped one chicken from scratching the Earth if it ever gets the chance to do so before it’s throat is cut for the KFC bucks it generates.”

“It’s all very well saying people should not feel guilty about disabling birds, but does that mean it’s ok for us to be guilt free while the birds have to suffer the unnecessary indignities of deprived motility (or to use another euphemism)? If you have fish, they have to have water, if you keep horses, they need space and time to run and gallop. If you keep kids, do you prevent them from ever running? Put them in a pushchair for all their lives because it’s ‘safer for them’? Why do birds, and particularly parrots, always get the worst accommodation in captivity.”

The birds who make it out of the closets often end up at local “humane” shelters. These shelters are already overburdened with unwanted dogs and cats, that they simply don’t have the room to accommodate parrots, let alone the staff necessary to care for them properly.

The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has admitted to euthanizing birds at their facility. Carter Luke, the MSPCA’s Vice President for Animal Protection, has this to say of parrots in captivity:

“Over the last ten years, there has really been an explosion in bird ownership. I know a lot of bird rescue groups have cropped up and boy, they’re all full! They’re really packed tightly. The problem is that people acquire birds without thinking.”

The Animal Rescue League of Boston recently requested help in determining which of their birds should be euthanized (i.e. killed) due to behavioral issues, and which should be adopted out. Considering the natural instincts that so strongly drive a bird, combined with the lack of proper early socialization of chicks in production mills, it is not far fetched to speculate that most birds who wind up at shelter situations will exhibit certain behaviors. Staff will probably consider these behaviors to be aggressive, when in fact they are simply an exhibition of normal tendencies of a wild animal in captivity. The end result for these displaced birds who wind up at these shelters is that they enter the building, but are never even given the chance to become adopted.

The lucky birds finally make it to a no-kill avian rescue facility. It is estimated that there are currently 200 of these shelters nationwide. Many of these organizations demonstrate a strong knowledge of the needs and desires of typical wild parrots and strive to incorporate those needs into a captive situation whenever possible. This includes, but is not limited to: free flight, varied diet including fresh foods, trees and plants that are safe to chew on, and most importantly, social conspecifics with whom they can form a close knit flock.

Mr. Schindlinger urges the public to spend their money more wisely:
“Instead of spending $1200.00 and buying a parrot, why don’t you spend that money on a plane ticket and have a vacation that you will never forget, spending a week or two with those wild parrots. And the value of that, not only in terms of your own experience, and bringing that experience home to share with other people, but the value of showing the local people-who live where the parrots are- that those birds are worth a lot to them economically as wild parrots.”

To make a local effect on the captive parrot overpopulation, monthly donations to avian rescues are always appreciated as well as time spent volunteering time to spend with the birds in these facilities. Another way you can help these misunderstood captive parrots is to simply act with compassion. Marc Johnson, founder and director of Foster Parrots Ltd offers the following thoughts:

“Most people who wish to acquire a parrot as a pet do so for all the wrong reasons. People are looking for another possession, a status symbol, a bird that talks, performs tricks or sings “Yankee Doodle Dandy”. Rather, they should be acting out of the humanitarian desire to help a wild animal, one who never asked or chose to be a pet, one who deserves a dignified life, no strings or expectations attached.”

Unfortunately for the birds, avian rescue facilities are costly to operate and maintain. Please help your local avian rescue facility and get involved to urge adoption. This problem can only be remedied through a public awareness campaign. And it all begins with you.

Foster Parrots is proud to announce a groundbreaking alliance with The Hunte Corporation and Woof & Co. Realizing that there is little support in the animal welfare world for parrot concerns, Foster Parrots has decided to borrow a page from the fundraising manuals of other animal welfare organizations and accept the financial help of companies that do not sell or support the sale of the "species" of our rescue efforts. When asked about the puppies that will suffer and the political and economic advantages this might give Woof & Co. and The Hunte Corporation, Marc Johnson, Director of Foster Parrots Ltd., said, "We do have concerns and worries about the suffering and overpopulation of dogs but we worry more about ourselves and the parrots. I don't see what anyone can be upset about since these companies don't sell parrots."

If anyone is concerned about the potential success of Woof & Co. or The Hunte Corporation, you need look no further than your own policies of accepting money from PETCO and PETsMART and the overwhelming success of these companies. They continue to thumb their noses at those concerned about the many exploited species now for sale in their stores while garnering the support of animal welfare organizations across the country who take their money and give them the political advantage of being able to show how "concerned" they are. Is it any wonder that Woof & Co. feels that despite the opposition, their enterprise will not be anything but a success? The tactic seems to be working just fine for PETCO and PETsMART.

Sincerely,
Marc Johnson
Director, Foster Parrots Ltd.

PS..... OK... JUST KIDDING. Foster Parrots IS NOT going to do such a thing. We would never take money from an animal exploiter to further our goals. This would be the ULTIMATE expression of hypocrisy. How did it make YOU feel to see the above? Were you outraged? Mad? Did this make you realize that if you are taking money from Petco and Petsmart you are doing EXACTLY what you were so mad at me for doing? Please reconsider giving Petco and Petsmart the political and moral justification for "business as usual". Stop taking their money.......
www.fosterparrots.com

What's Wrong With Petco And Petsmart? They Don’t Sell Puppies And Kittens.

This is hobbit, a senegal parrot mutilated at petco and denied veterinary care. She is now doing well and has met with steven tyler, lead singer of aerosmith as well as the well respected biologist jane goodall. Her story and the suffering of other animals at petco can be found at:
www.thebeakretreat.com
www.petcocruelty.com

PETCOPATHY
by Tela Wilson
Petcopathy at PETsMART

Pronunciation: PET KO pah-thE
Function: noun
Etymology: Greek Petcopatheia, from PetcopathEs without feeling, from Petco + pathos emotion -- more at
PetcoPATHOS
Date: 1965
1: Lack of feeling or emotion on behalf of Petco:
IMPASSIVENESS
2: Lack of interest or concern of animals’ welfare:
INDIFFERENCE
See also: Petcopathetic (adj.), Petcopathetically (adv.), Synonym: PETsMART, Petland, Pet Industry (gen.)

Petcopathy is not a word you will see in a dictionary; in fact you will be hard pressed to find it in print. This is a word similar to Misothery, meaning the general hatred of animals, though petcopathy is particular to the pet trade’s actions, or rather lack of action, regarding animal merchandise. Misothery was originally coined by well respected lawyer, author, and animal rights activist Jim Mason in his 1993 book, An Unnatural Order, and is now used by activists worldwide.

Petcopathy is a word coined by members of a group committed to stopping live animal sales at Petco, a campaign called Petno (www.petcocruelty.com). This is a campaign launched by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), a group well known for it’s outlandish and radical tactics to draw attention to various animal abuse issues.

Upon inspection, the allegations against the large chain pet stores has more merit than many people give it credit for. Once one looks beyond the organization on the front lines, one discovers the way the “merchandise” is mass produced, mass marketed and sold as disposable living creatures is deplorable.3

Most people walk through the aisles of a Petco, PETsMART or other pet store without considering where these animals come from. Perhaps it is time to stop to really think about it.

Any dog breeder who breeds for the love of their breed would never sell their puppies to a retail store. They would surely screen potential buyers, thus ensuring the pups went to the best possible homes and would stay there for a lifetime. Many dog breeders keep in touch with their customers, sharing photos, holiday cards and often have gatherings for their consumers and the dogs. A breeder who ships their puppies across the country to pet stores is often considered a “puppy mill.” (1)

Why then is it any different for the birds, reptiles and small mammals sold at the chain pet stores? It can be alleged that these animals come from breeding mills, and the tight lips of these organizations’ management make it impossible to know for sure. Petco and PETsMART have routinely refused to provide contact information for the various facilities from which they purchase animals, and so nobody really knows where they come from. In order to price competitively, one would assume pet store animals are bred in mass quantities and purchased in the same manner.

One particular animal mill that PETsMART uses is often boasted about by management. The Kaytee Preferred Bird Program supplies PETsMART birds around the country. This program has two facilities in Florida, and one in Nevada. Anonymous sources claim that the Kaytee program accidentally created a protozoa, which was fatal to Cockatiels, though this has not yet been proven. What has been proven time and time again, however, is that birds are driven by van to PETsMART stores throughout the country, unweaned and frightened.

Florida and Nevada have some extremely outdated cruelty statutes, and most cruelty allegations are based on subjective reasoning, i.e. justifiable cruelty is lawful, and one can speculate that the Kaytee programs justify the mass production and gavage feeding of chicks as justified by profits. Sally Blanchard, a well respected avian behaviorist and editor of the popular bird magazine, Companion Parrot Quarterly, has even called the Kaytee Preferred Bird Program the“poultrification of parrots.” (2)

One common remark from opposition to this campaign against live animal sales is that only Petco has been targeted. Front line activist, Tami Myers has this response: “ The Petno campaign needs to remain focused on Petco simply due to time needed to dedicate to any one campaign. There are so many issues, and so few people willing to dedicate the time and effort to work on them.” Myers goes on to say, “PETsMART is not exempt from a similar campaign; in fact it is on the horizon.”

"People who shop at PETCO and PETsMART care about animals. What many of these kind consumers do not know is that PETA receives horrible
reports of animal abuse and neglect regarding both PETCO and PETsMART on a regular basis.” Christy Griffin, Campaign Coordinator for PETA says of PETA’s campaign. “Kind consumers have a right to know about these chains' history of animal cruelty. We are asking that consumers boycott any companion animal supply store that sells animals."

A baby Caique in a Massachusetts store recently died from complications due to crop burn, insiders say. This baby parrot was at a PETsMART store being “handfed” by store employees. The term “hand feeding” and the weaning of parrots by the pet trade is one which has been openly criticized by The Beak Retreat in the article Parrots and People, a Relationship of Conflict (3).

Karen Lee, the Assistant Director for Foster Parrots Ltd., a non profit parrot rescue, sanctuary and adoption facility in Rockland MA, saw this particular Caique while at the PETsMART store.

“I decided to go check on what birds they had for sale and what conditions they were being kept in. They were selling a young sulfur crested cockatoo and a variety of Conures, all of them young. My attention was captured, however, by the little caique that sat on the floor of its small enclosure with its head down. It was obviously quite young and unable to perch. Certainly it was also unable to eat on its own and was waiting for hand feedings, but it was too young and not strong enough, apparently, to aggressively seek attention or beg for food with any kind of zest. It simply looked sad, lonely and listless. A tap on the Plexiglas could coax its head up, and it would look for a few moments, but then the head went back down and the eyes would close.

I was filled with such rage, looking at this helpless little bird, because I knew that in an emotional and psychological sense it was already a damaged bird. It's first life experiences were already isolation, loneliness, want, confusion, fear, insecurity and hunger. It had no chance to properly develop with a foundation of security and well-being.

To learn that this little bird was, in fact, killed by its care givers at Petsmart pretty much put me over the top.

If the welfare of their animals is indeed their top priority, as they claim, they would not be selling unweaned baby birds in their stores.”

It would appear that PETsMART is just as guilty of Petcopathy as Petco, and seems to be simply waiting their turn for scrutiny instead of changing store policies and ceasing the sale of birds as well as ALL animals in their stores.

In summary, here is a quote from Marc Johnson, President and Director of one of the largest of the nearly 200 Avian rescue facilities nationwide commenting on the Pet Trade;

The work and sacrifice that so many endure in the face of outrageous hypocrisy and indifference is truly mind-boggling. Despite the endless hours and continuous heartbreak I am determined to see the fruit of our dedication and hard work before I die. To this end I continue in the face of overwhelming odds and a pet trade hell bent on making money without examining their conscience for fear of disturbing the bliss that ignorance gives them. A pet trade that is more than willing to use any avenue available to continue down the well traveled road littered with the bodies of tens of millions of dogs and cats.

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The Angry Parrot Inc
PO Box 442
Thorndike, MA 01079
413-230-8021
Info@TheAngryParrot.Org

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The Avian Welfare Coalition