Oh great...

[HalfInsane]

Admittedly, I'm probably late hearing about this, being out of the loop and having no cable, but Cee Lo Green now has a moluccan cockatoo as his "sidekick" on the NBC show The Voice...

God knows, the last thing 'toos need is some high profile celebrity appearing on tv with one sitting on his shoulder, being touted as some kind of cute fluffy prop.

Urgh. Guaranteed, this will spur some idiot to get out and buy a moluccan because "Cee Lo Green has one!".

Here's an article for this of you who are as out of the loop as me/got bored with all these singing-contestant-shows:

Cee Lo Debuts Cockatoo on The Voice Season 3 : People.com

 

[Mare Miller]

Yikes! Poor bird! Knowing how sensitive these birds are, this makes me truly sad!

 

[tab_xo]

I highly doubt he is going to be the one who feeds it, cleans it cage, and bonds with it.. think he just got it because he thought it would be cool and talk on the show..

 

[Birdlover11]

I agree with all of you, he not going to care for it all his assistants will be doing it for him . He only got it because he thinks it will be nice to have a pink bird on a tv show. Poor birdie...

 

[LivLaughLov]

I understand all of your concerns, but The Voice is the ONLY TV I watch, seriously. They have had several snippets where Cee Lo says this is NOT the bird for everyone, talks about how very sensitive she is and rarely has her on. But she is in his studio with a cage that takes up a wall and a perch by him where she sits as long as she wants.

 

[Kiwibird]

I haven't owned a TV in years, but this certainly gives me a good reminder of why I should continue never owning one. Poor little bird, being used as nothing more than a "prop" and when the TV show isn't getting ratings anymore, it'll be discarded just like everything else related to the show :-( And you can bet a bunch of TV-hypnotized morons will rush out and buy up a bunch of these beautiful creatures (as babies, naturally) with no idea of what they've gotten themselves into. And when those little love muffins start hitting sexual maturity, and get nippy/noisy, instead of being trained properly, they will be given away because the novelty has worn off, and the owner no longer cares to put in the effort to have a loving, well socialized parrot. Shame on whatever show/netwroke this is!

I won't forget when we were looking to adopt a bird 5 years ago, the shelter we worked with had mostly large cockatoos and macaws needing a home. Sooooo many people just got way in over their heads with these animals, there were at least 20 at this one small shelter alone. Don't get me wrong, they were lovely birds, I would've taken them all in if I had the ability, but I really only had the room for an amazon/gray/eclectus sized bird (I ended up with my BFA, who I know I am able to provide the appropriate care for). If anyone hears of some sort of petition or something to the network to get this bird off the air (or at least not encourage inexperienced members of the audience to buy them) please let me know!

 

[Adinafloyd]

My fear is that all his fans will find it cool and haul off and buy a poor bird that they know nothing about because they think its cool. These will be the poor birds that end up in rescues with lots of mental and physical problems. It breaks my heart.

 

[Sherry]

I'm sorry but after reading all of these comments I had to write. Honestly I enjoy reading and learning from many of the post but o be honest this one kind of pisses me off. What makes any of you feel like you are soooooo much better to care for our birds than anyone else? Really. Do you know Cee Lo? Because he has money and success he's less capable of loving or caring for his animals? It really cracks me up when people who claim to not be judge mental are the first to jump on others. Wow. I guess the people that are attracted to CeeLoo's bird are all idiots that can't possibly take proper care of them, unlike all the bird masters here. Hey, why not start a campaign and make owning a bird illegal except for all of you, whom I know knew everything about the animal before you brought them home. Wow.

 

[Adinafloyd]

Well sherry My turn on the soap box, I dont think anyone else is talking about cee lo or whatever his name is, they and myself are talking about the folks that will get a bird if this turns into a fad. No one knows everything about caring for birds, but the people on here are scared about people who really dont get a bird to care for it, but to get a bird to look cool. I dont know about everyone elses comments, wether or not he cares for the bird or assistants do. The bird looks healthy. I am referring to the birds that will be bought by those who really dont care about the bird just cool they look with one. I have no problem with someone getting a bird to care for, I do have a problem when someone gets a bird to show off. As for CeeLo, I never heard if this guy until this thread....cant tell ya anything but his name. I really dont care who he is.

 

[Sherry]

Hey look, I'm against anyone who gets a bird to make themselves look cool too, but this thread is certainly about Cee Lo Green and his bird. Some harsh comments were made to this, such as "now some idiot will go out and get one", "bet he doesn't take care of it himself", etc. my point being people should judge others they don't know anything about and yes I have no idea how this man cares for his animals, maybe he has a bird rescue himself or helps one. Who knows. And while I'm back up on that soap box, I got my birds because they are cool. With what they do, such as talk, play, the way they learn, their beauty, etc. I surely didn't get them because I like to care for them. I don't like cleaning cages, wiping poop off the wall, chasing little feathers all around. I do it because I love them. Honestly if it were only about caring for parrots no one would own one, they would be left alone in their own habitat, but that's not how it is. I think if most people were honest they would admit that they got their bird because it was cool as **** and they felt cool to have one.

 

[tab_xo]

I dont know who he is either, as i dont watch tv, especially those kind of shows, so i dont care about him.. but that bird, or any bird, would not enjoy THOUSANDS of people/fans screaming around them :/

 

[HalfInsane]

My problem is not with Cee Lo personally, I honestly know nothing about him other than a couple of songs he signs. And of course not all the fans of the show are total numbskulls who will get a 'too to be cool. But guaranteed, there are people out there who will. Some of them, I'm sure, with the best intentions. But good intentions only get you so far with an animal that is often refered to as a toddler with a can opener on its face.

My problem is that we, in Western society, worship celebrities. People adore then, obsess about them, and desperately try to BE LIKE THEM. And we're not just talking about a fashion trend, or something like that. We're talking about a bird that is extremely emotionally complex, which very few people have the time and dedication and bitter determination to care for. And I include myself in that statement; I know I could not handle a cockatoo.

Look at the movie '101 Dalmations'. After the film people went out in droves to buy dalmation puppies, and later those same puppies were given up in droves. And those are dogs, not a wild animal. Which is what all parrots are. Cee Lo may be a fine guy, that cockatoo may be well loved, and certainly there's all sorts of people whom enjoy watching the voice. But when an animal that so few people can handle as it is appears on a tv show as a prop, that is just asking for trouble. And even if one ill informed person went out and got a 'too because of that show, it'd be one too many.

 

[Thingamagigs]

I don't like how people refer to parrots as "wild animals" and claim that dogs etc are not the same. Your parrot is not a wild animal, it is a captive animal just like a dog or a cat or a mouse.

All animals we share our lives with are animals. They are not human. Dogs have been bred over hundreds and sometimes thousands of years for mild temperament... and a lot of parrot species have also. It does not negate the fact they are animals with instinct and animal needs. No animal should be taken for granted. All animals should have their instinctual needs met and understood.

Having a cockatoo on TV will have both its positives and negatives depending on how the presenter handles the birds air time. His presence on the show may do as much to deter people from owning one as it does to endear people.

You cant stop people from having pets... and those who decide a cockatoo is for them based on a bird on TV are going to go out and get some fad pet of some description anyway. We don't live in an ideal utopia and can not expect everyone to conform to our ideals. This bird is not being abused I see no reason to be outraged. That kind of energy is probably best spent on someone who is abusing, neglecting or capturing wild animals.

Look at the loads of bird lovers who put videos of their adorable cockatoos and other pets on youtube... that is as likely to convince someone to go out and buy a cockatoo as some guy who is on TV. Perhaps even more likely. Yet I am sure a LOT of people on here have done it Do you propose youtube ban all video with animals in it?