Moral dilemmas from adopting birds

[CRIKEY]

Really wasn't sure exactly where this would fit. At first I saw the Questions & Answers section but thought that's probably for SPECIFIC answers, not "opinions". As for General Parrot Information, I get the vibe that's for facts, not general discussion. So if this thread needs to be moved my apologies to the staff.

As I said in my introduction post, I have yet to adopt a bird. However, has anybody ever had guilt adopting a bird? They're loveable of course, but most of them, at least from what I've heard, were kidnapped for lack of a better word from the Amazon/Central America and such.

 

[zarafia]

In my opinion we have a duty to birds who survived the importation proscess to give them the best lives possible and every oppurtunity to reproduce. Some of the species that were legally imported into the US have larger and more stable populations in captivity than in the wild due to deforestation and local pressures. Mexican red-headed (or green-cheeked) amazons are a good example. Large numbers were imported into the US in the eighties. Since they stopped importing them they were placed on the endangered species list because of loss of habitat not over trapping. In the meantime US breeders were very sucsessful with them in captivity and their species is safe.
Now smuggling is another matter altogether and cannot be supported. But animals that survive being smuggled should be placed in breeding consortiums.
Just my opinion though.

 

[zarafia]

Let me also add that at least here in Florida, 95% of the birds available as pets are captive bred whether they are tame or not. If you want to be sure your bird was not "kidnapped" from the wild make sure he is banded with a closed ring on his leg, there will be letters to identify the breeder and year of hatch. Another personal opinion that I have is that whenever possible wild caught birds should be set up to breed. We need the genepool and they are often already experienced parents.

 

[Auggie's Dad]

Interesting question. I have two answers.

First, to answer your question just as stated NOPE none at all. All pets at one point in their history were "kidnapped," and as long as we are good pet parents we are providing them a better, longer, and healthier life than they would get in the wild. Many of the "exotic" birds we keep as pets are actually seen as pests in their native land, they are poisoned and killed to keep them away from the fruit much like farmers here kill of insects. While that is the worst case scenario of their life in the wild you would be hard pressed to find a bird in the wild living nearly as good as a well cared for pet. (Note the "well cared for", unfortunately some people get parrots as decorations to match the furniture... thats just stupid and sick.) So again to your question I give a resounding No.

However to look at your question from another aspect there have been times when I have stopped and asked myself why did I do it, why did I think I could provide a home for a bird. It is a lot of work. In retrospect I really wasn't ready for it, though I suppose no first time bird owner is - the irony of experience: you cant get it without first living without it. But even the times I question myself and my ability to provide for all of Auggie's needs, even then I know that his life here is very good, much better than what he would get in the wild.

 

[MetroidGirl]

the only guilt i had was more of worry that i wasn't going to be a good parrot mom, but i spent time learning all i could and got on this forum and thats helped a lot.

i think you can avoid a lot of worry about buying a captive bird if you buy from a breeder, right? just find a good parrot breeder in your area and talk to them for a while about adopting a bird, theyre usually more than happy to share their knowledge.

 

[Vonne]

As with all critter endeavors, I feel we should always strive to obtain captive bred. There are just too many benefits from doing such, to ignore. Still, if carefully researched, and properly managed, I feel there is some good that can come from harvesting in the wild.