Abuse of Birds

[MomtoPercy]

To avoid taking over MarciaLoveks thread on the abused cockatoo she's helping, I thought I'd start a new thread about bird abuse.

I am embarrassed and ashamed to admit that before I had Percy, I never knew (or even thought) that birds could be/were abused too. All the birds I'd encountered thus far in my life were pet birds and were (what I then believed to be) well taken care of (clean cages, regular food, all the basics but nothing more).

Sure, everyone knows about abuse to four legged animals but I think abuse to birds is somewhat 'swept under the carpet' because I'd certainly never encountered it before. For instance, I've seen countless documentaries, news broadcasts, articles in newspapers about abuse to dogs, elephants, farm animals but never anything on birds. But then, I also didn't frequent all the various websites that tell stories about it and didn't visit stores that actually perpetrate such acts and thus didn't see it 'in your face' like I do now.

Too often we think of 'abuse' as beating and/or physical injury. We forget the damage that a dirty, unkept enviroment can do. The damage of being locked in a tiny space (even if it is clean) can do. The psycological damage that can be done to sentient, intelligent creatures by neglect and loneliness. It is so distressing to learn these things and realise how blind I have been but it is essential for me to know about it. If I didn't find such an instances for myself since getting Percy, if I weren't personally confronted by it like I have been recently, I wouldn't know enough about it happening *under my own nose* to be making plans to adopt another bird, if only to save it from such horrid conditons. Once I've secured another cage, I will be adopting my next bird specifically out of such a situation. I can't save them all but each bird saved is a victory, not so?

Percy has zapped me more times than I can remember but I've never once felt the need or urge to lash out at him or even shout at him. Oh, he knows that I am 'cross' with him but he certainly doesn't fear me, even if I am upset and bleeding LOL! When I show him my bleeding hand and say "Look what you did to mommy, I'm so sad now" he "cries" (the funniest put-on sound you can imagine, I think he learned it from my mom) to show me how hurt HE is by MY naughtiness. And when I relent and giggle at that cute performance, he packs up laughing too (and no doubt prepares for Round 2).

 

[Birdman666]

Don't even get me started on this topic...

I did parrot rescue for half a dozen years, and saw stuff that would make you sick! Some of it, I already posted in a couple of other places...

It can make you cynical. In fact, I walked away from it because I couldn't deal with the anger of some of the stuff I saw anymore...

I shared this before, but a few examples:

Backyard breeding operations. During the economic downturn, they couldn't sell birds, and couldn't afford to keep them, and many people lost their homes. We encountered two LARGE (75+ macaws) backyard breeding operations, where they just walked away and left the birds with no food or water...

Macaws kept for decades in a storage unit suffering from sensory deprivation...

THE MENTALLY ILL HORDERS! OH, GOD! DISGUSTING... !!!

A conure that was being handled to roughly by a toddler and nipped him, causing a pinhole in a finger. Dad got mad, and took a pair of tin snips to the bird, cut his beak off...

And then there was the BABY GREENWING... who was screaming. So Dad put the bird in a dog crate (which caused the bird to panic and scream more!), and instructed HIS KIDS to kick the crate until the bird shut up! The bird only shut up when he was badly injured... [I wanted to kill the guy. That's really when I mentally checked out of the rescue business.]

Then there were the teenagers who thought it was really funny to pour lighter fluid on a pet too, and watch it run around screaming in pain on fire, as it burned to death...

I COULD GO ON BUT I WILL STOP HERE.

Most of us are caring owners who love and care for our birds...

But it happens...

 

[GaryBV]

Oh I think abuse can take many forms, from physical, to mental, to neglect, to aiding and abetting a poor diet and everything in between. I don't think any animal that lives in proximity to humans is immune from abuse, from farm animals to the most coddled pets. You're right MtP I have never seen a news story about birds being abused. On another issue of abuse, and this is one I've thought about a lot, is the conditions I have seen some fish kept at stores. I've seen 'feeders' (I hate that expression) kept in such crowded, filthy tanks, obviously oxygen depleted, that it makes me sick, and I've seen tanks full of ick and other diseases, including fungus, and it seems nothing ever gets done. That kind of abuse upsets me also. I have been involved with dog abuse for a long time, and many of the dogs we have had over the years have been rescues. In fact, we were taken to court once because we took a dog right out of someone's yard, off a chain, and the owners sued me. Surprisingly, I won, but I think that is rare. Putting a spotlight on abuse whether of birds, dogs, cat, and even in my cause, fish, is helpful I think but it in no way stops it, as the cases still show up every day in the news.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Abuse is terrible I hate thinking about what people are capable of doing to animals, as well as other people! I can't stand to see neglected animals

Rosie was abused, my friends got her from a lady in front of a local chain pet store. She was giving her away because her husband was going to kill the poor bird who my friends later named Rosie. Rosie was in a cage so tiny my friends had to cut her out!! And her leg was also broken, but my friends didn't relize this so she never saw a vet. The first few months living with my friends Rosie would panic when a guy walked by, and throw herself to the bottom of her cage so hard she would injure herself.

I've known Rosie eight years, but only the last 2 1/2 years has improved her mentality. A large cage, good diet, and actually having toys makes a huge difference. Having a rescued parrot that gets to enjoy live again is a great feeling.

 

[JerseyWendy]

There are 2 things I have ZERO tolerance of, and they are child abuse and animal abuse.

"An eye for an eye"....comes to mind here, and I'd best leave it at that.

 

[Maria_Metropolis]

I do take comfort in knowing that the vast majority of parents and pet owners are very kind and empathic people that take excellent care of their children and animals.

Unfortunately, children nor animals can't pick who takes care of them.

 

[SandyBee]

Grrrr

I'm with Wendy on this one. Sometimes I am so disgusted with the human condition and how people can abuse any creature in any way.
Birdman, wow those are some dire things you have seen.
I don't think I'll ever understand why

 

[MomtoPercy]

OMG, Birdman, those are horrific stories! I cried just reading them, I can't imagine your anguish at witnessing that first hand

You're right, Gary - fish are indeed kept in shocking conditions in most pet stores. It is no wonder so few of them survive after being bought.

 

[Maria_Metropolis]

Grrrr

I'm with Wendy on this one. Sometimes I am so disgusted with the human condition and how people can abuse any creature in any way.
Birdman, wow those are some dire things you have seen.
I don't think I'll ever understand why

I truly feel that people that abuse other living things are often mentally unstable themselves, or have some degree of sociopathy.

 

[SandyBee]

Grrrr

I'm with Wendy on this one. Sometimes I am so disgusted with the human condition and how people can abuse any creature in any way.
Birdman, wow those are some dire things you have seen.
I don't think I'll ever understand why

I truly feel that people that abuse other living things are often mentally unstable themselves, or have some degree of sociopathy.

I agree mostly with this especially in extreme physical abuse. But there is also neglect and people who just don't know any better. People who just abandon their animals or starve them from love and care or use forms of punishment that only traumatizes further.

 

[Maria_Metropolis]

Grrrr

I'm with Wendy on this one. Sometimes I am so disgusted with the human condition and how people can abuse any creature in any way.
Birdman, wow those are some dire things you have seen.
I don't think I'll ever understand why

I truly feel that people that abuse other living things are often mentally unstable themselves, or have some degree of sociopathy.

I agree mostly with this especially in extreme physical abuse. But there is also neglect and people who just don't know any better. People who just abandon their animals or starve them from love and care or use forms of punishment that only traumatizes further.

Yes, I meant extreme physical abuse. There are just some people that don't know any better, and the poor animals get abused because of lack of intelligence, understanding or proper research by the owner.

 

[henpecked]

I'm not sure of what the definition of abuse is,,, but i'm learning more every day about how to enrich my companions life. If you can, help a bird out. BUT a warning to the OP who talked of "rescuing" another bird. It's so easy to become overwhelmed, Pick your battles, you can't save them all. You can only spread yourself so thin. In the end, their mate would be with them 24/7 , anything less than 100% on your part is a compromise on their;s. As cruel as it may sound human's aren't always the best companions. I deal with rescue/rehome amazons and am torn between what is right/wrong/best.

 

[ShreddedOakAviary]

I have to agree with Henpecked. My husband asked me the other day what I would do if we ever won the lottery... I told him that I would open both a draft horse rescue and a parrot sanctuary. I raise birds (and horses for that matter), and I am often torn about what I do. I work very hard to choose homes for our birds, and every time I think about quitting I get another knock on my door of a bird that's a mess and so many times it's a devastating lack of experience and information that a breeder failed to give out. Breeders who sell to anyone. In fact today while picking up a cockatiel hen a lady's boyfriend visited with his Severe Macaw... a bird in terrible shape... he had a crooked beak that they said he had since before he was weaned (I have been raising birds long enough to know a poorly handfed macaw damaged beak when I see one... So I did some work on the birds beak and made an appointment with them for next month). there isn't just a tragic lack of responsibility and ethics in owners, it's in breeders, and (sadly) rescues as well. As far as not hearing about bird abuse... there is one really sad reason... animal control doesn't know what constitutes abuse. we tried and tried to get another breeder shut down for not feeding birds, leaving them in the dark for days, giving them water out of the indoor fish pond, cockatiels living with guinea pigs, etc... They never found anything wrong with any of it. It wasn't until the guy finally went to prison for unrelated drug and assault charges that the birds were finally free of him, sadly only to go to another drug addict who left them in a basement and treated them basically the same way. SOME of the birds were saved (I have 5 of them here). The lab test results that came back were sickening... the birds looked fine, but holy cow they cost us hundreds each just to test and treat. (We were really confused about one culture that came back positive with a fish bacteria... talk about weird (the pond water) trying to find an antibiotic to treat that with without killing the bird was a real challenge, and even then the drug carried some nasty potential side effects. Luckily we succeeded and he's still here. I know a breeder that existed a couple hours from here and kept her macaws in a drafty unheated barn (this is Nebraska) and their toes froze off. I tried and tried to shut down another breeder not far from here who had his birds indoors in an un airconditioned facility and it was 103 outside for about a month. Some died, but again animal control simply told me that they were "tropical birds" and that they looked fine, and that birds weren't really their jurisdiction.. ah... Birds in bare cages with no stimulation, etc. My pet cockatoo Moe is missing a toe because his previous owners said they cut it off to teach him who was boss. Any number of bird people can tell you horror stories... but birds don't improve because we have convinced the general public they don't know enough about them to regulate them. When we still have vets telling people lies like "your ducorps cockatoo beak cannot be corrected." and then I went and trimmed the beak and corrected the diet for the lady... this was almost two years ago and the birds beak is perfect... now if vets don't know, how can animals control possibly know? Crap, breeders don't even know most of the time (Henpecked is an exception obviously). It's just a sad lack of knowledge... but it doesn't stop with birds. I just watched a draft horse rescue slowly (and painfully) allow a horse to die from a completely COMMON AND TREATABLE disease... when the knowledge isn't there, then the animals always suffer. People do the same thing with other people... we tend to inadvertently harm what we don't understand, and we tend to be too proud to admit that we don't.

 

[GaryBV]

Not one single person has commeted or thanked on my post about the treatment of fish - that's exactly what I mean - I really don't understand why nobody cares about how fish are mistreated. If someone was cutting off the oxygen of a kitten there would be a huge outcry, but I've walked past fish stores in Chinatown where the fish were laid out gasping for air, their mouths opening and closing frantically as they died just laying out on tables on the street. That's pretty much what it must be like for the fish in overcrowded oxygen depleted tanks. Or how about lobsters in water tanks at supermarkets with their claws banded shut - then bought and shoved into boiling water? I'll just never understand this and I dont' think I'm capable of understand it.

I'm not criticizing btw, it just proved the point I made in my original post.

 

[ShreddedOakAviary]

One of many reasons I'm vegan.

 

[MomtoPercy]

Not one single person has commeted or thanked on my post about the treatment of fish -

I beg to differ, sir! I did comment and I do share your disgust at how fish are housed and treated in pet shops.

On a related note, and a comment I made on another thread - one of my biggest concerns with the way any animal is kept in a pet shop is that ignorant buyers think that those conditions are acceptable and then they continue the abuse at home, perhaps through ignorance but that is not even an excuse. If you buy a new pet, do some research!

 

[GaryBV]

WHOOPS lol -

You're right, Gary - fish are indeed kept in shocking conditions in most pet stores. It is no wonder so few of them survive after being bought.

I stand corrected lol.

I know fish feel pain, I know that they can feel fear (I can tell if there is a predator about my pond by how my fish behave), I know they can get excited (when I look at them, and when I feed them). My Lionhead goldfish even learned to recognize me from other people. But I can see that there is just not much interest in how fish are treated and I don't understand what I'm missing or why I feel the way I do when most other people don't seem to care. But thanks MtP for commenting, and for pointing it out to me when I was whining about it

 

[MomtoPercy]

Gary, I think fish get a raw deal because they're not "cuddly". Most people can't be bothered to find out more about what makes them special.

Have you seen how poor dolphins are treated in the east? Harrangued into a cove and butchered "in the name of tradition" or some such crap! And sharks! Fins butchered off and the living, defenceless shark tossed back in the sea. It is truly sickening

 

[ShreddedOakAviary]

On that note, you should watch the documentary "Blackfish"... it's about orcas in captivity (the title is not based on ignorance but a reference to another culture). Now back to our previously scheduled on topic program... birds

 

[GaryBV]

AHHHH I absolutely did watch Blackfish - it was about Tilikum, one of the most well-known, and I'd say even notorious, Orcas. I think he's killed 3 people, but I know at least 2. It made an impact on me to the point that I don't think they should be kept by corporations. I was kind of nervous to watch it. There is another docuentary about dolphins in Japan I won't watch because I undertsand it to be very violent and bloody. OMG MtP - I just saw that you had referenced this same documentary, I think it is called "The Cove" - sorry lol

I wonder how Crimson feels about fish and if she thinks they can be abused, as she is a fish lover and has a beautiful set up. I've had fish since I was very young, and at one time I had 5 aquariums going to my mother's dismay. I used to actually breed and raise Cobra guppies (they looked like they had snakes skin) and I sold them for a premium price to pet stores. I was in high school at the time. I actually consider myself an authority on fresh water fish, gardening, and dogs.