"Petkeeping with Marc Morrone"

[PortaPerch]

We often turn on the tv for our birds and let the dvr run continuously on over 60 shows of Petkeeping. It's on Hallmark chnl. Here's a bit from wiki:

Background

At age four, Morrone adopted his first pet, a parakeet named Jinxie. By age 18, Morrone’s pet collection had outgrown his parents' house. In 1978, Morrone opened a pet store "Parrots of the World." with his business partner Nick Guerra in Rockville Centre, New York. The store sells hundreds of companion animals each year. Parrots of the World is now a 10,000-square-foot (930 m2) business.


Morrone’s television career began as a guest on the News 12 program The Family Pet. In 1995, he started a cable show, Extra Help Pet Show, later renamed Metro Pets. His practice of crowding dozens of animals in a small space on-camera was allegedly born of necessity — Morrone claimed it was needed to keep the animals warm in the unheated television studio. (The bright lights of a typical television studio are in fact very hot, but are compensated by keeping the studio very cool.) The local cable show led to Morrone’s guest appearances with Martha Stewart on her television program Martha Stewart Living, starting in 1997. In 2001, Hearst Entertainment began syndication of The Pet Shop With Marc Morrone.


Have any of you been to his store?

PP

 

[greycloud]

You couldn't pay me to watch his shows or go anywhere near him! Look at his blooper vids of his show. Pets falling off tables, getting bit by other animals. Now he is trying to market jesses for parrots! Many avian vets are very against this. Parrots do not have the strength and bone structure that Birds of prey have. The vets feel many parrots are going to become injured. His whole career revolves around the mighty dollar. JMHO!

 

[luvmytooo]

Ive been to his store and I was horrified !!!
The birds are only let out during the weekends because they only pay their help on the weekends !!!! I was shocked , the MM2 and the RB2 were in a very small cage , they were packed in like sardines !! They were also given lettuce ! I mean , the real crappy
parts of lettuce !! I could see these birds were miserable in such crowded confinement.
It was hard to see , but , I wanted to go on the weekend too , just to see how they were treated , and I was sorry I did ! These birds were packed onto a grated stand .
I could imagine how bad their feet are from standing on that all the time. Either they are
stuffed in the cage with no perches or they are loose ontop of the crates.
He boasts that birds don't need a big cage because they only sit in one place anyway.
He also said that cats can live and thrive outside !!!! So , I'm sure the uneducated
people are just letting fluffy out to roam free because they know how to survive

This man makes me sick !! He portrays himself as a animal expert but really he is a animal abuser. IMO.

I can't stand him !!! The ferrets cages stunk like hell too !
Im surprised this jerk has stayed in business as long as he has !
Jut saying ....

 

[greycloud]

Let's take a little peek at what the TV does not air! And Martha Stewart promotes this guy!
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZS0diVzjxg"]Marc Morrone - Pets get hurt - YouTube[/ame]

 

[luvmytooo]

I have seen those, it's horrendous ! If that dogs tongue was hurt severely ,
the dog would have to be out down ! It's just terrible !
The almighty dollar is all that's important to this jerk !
And what makes it more sickening , is that the a huge majority of people see him
as a expert ! He deserves to be stepped on by a elephant !
Just saying.....

 

[brianlinkles]

OMG! I had no idea! I guess I should have being that he had that many animals in one place. I always just thought he was a goofy kind of guy & enjoyed watching his show. I will never watch again!

 

[luvmytooo]

He can say some good about taking care of animals and explains what is required , like guinea pigs , snakes , etc...I agree with him about taking a GP to the vet if needed. And that they deserve the same treatment as a cat or dog. So e people feel since they are so cheap that they can replace it for less. He adamantly disagrees with that.
I like that about him , I'll give him that. But maybe it's because he doesn't feel it's such a big sale on his part , idk....
But his attitude towards keeping birds is just wrong on so many levels , I don't know where to start...
We have news 12 here , so he is on Sunday mornings.

 

[mcw009]

Let's take a little peek at what the TV does not air! And Martha Stewart promotes this guy!
Marc Morrone - Pets get hurt - YouTube

This was so disillusioning! I used to look forward to watching that show when I was a kid; I remember marveling at how well all those animals got along. In retrospect, of course they really didn't, but in my defense I was young teens, max, at the time. I'm glad it's been years since I've watched, now.

 

[greycloud]

It's amazing what ends up on the bottom of the editing room floor!

 

[MollyGreenCheeks]

Ive been to his store and I was horrified !!!
The birds are only let out during the weekends because they only pay their help on the weekends !!!! I was shocked , the MM2 and the RB2 were in a very small cage , they were packed in like sardines !! They were also given lettuce ! I mean , the real crappy
parts of lettuce !! I could see these birds were miserable in such crowded confinement.
It was hard to see , but , I wanted to go on the weekend too , just to see how they were treated , and I was sorry I did ! These birds were packed onto a grated stand .
I could imagine how bad their feet are from standing on that all the time. Either they are
stuffed in the cage with no perches or they are loose ontop of the crates.
He boasts that birds don't need a big cage because they only sit in one place anyway.
He also said that cats can live and thrive outside !!!! So , I'm sure the uneducated
people are just letting fluffy out to roam free because they know how to survive

This man makes me sick !! He portrays himself as a animal expert but really he is a animal abuser. IMO.

I can't stand him !!! The ferrets cages stunk like hell too !
Im surprised this jerk has stayed in business as long as he has !
Jut saying ....

I'm sorry, I just feel I need to interject here!

In regards to the "crappy" part of lettuce, there is nothing wrong with it. It is simply just full of water and lacks the nutrients that birds require. Who is to say that his birds don't get various types of greens.

Secondly, I have watched him and specifically heard him talk about various cage sizes for different birds and at the same time has also said that you should always buy the biggest cages you can afford.

Lastly, I have also heard him say that cats are bread to live inside the home and therefore should not be left outside.

It just bothers me that people who don't really know anything about this guy are saying that he is only out for money. People are not perfect and we all make mistakes. I am sure he got into the business for his love of animals and maybe he has gone wrong. If you feel the way you do, write him a letter. I'm sure he as a business email available.

 

[Parrotmamma]

Well.... me, my kids and the birds watch his show . I think he is pretty knowledgeable about all types of pets . I don't agree with everything he says but there is no one I agree with 100% . And he probably shouldn't pile that many animals together on one table .In end I do my research and go with what I feel is right for me and my pets. I have had outdoor cats and indoor cats and in my opinion my outdoor cats were healthier than my indoor kitties.
I think his heart is in the right place.

 

[dishgal1]

Well I have to say, if I made my little green cheek stop watching him, he would be devastated. As soon as the music starts and Marc starts talking he starts saying "I LOVE YOU"....over and over. He especially likes the episodes with a lot of birds. He loves his voice.

 

[luvmytooo]

Well I have to say, if I made my little green cheek stop watching him, he would be devastated. As soon as the music starts and Marc starts talking he starts saying "I LOVE YOU"....over and over. He especially likes the episodes with a lot of birds. He loves his voice.

ROFLMAO.

 

[mycheleb]

OMG! I just saw the video on an 'animal comedy' website. Has anybody reported this guy for neglect (allowing birds and other animals to be bitten by monkeys, allowing a cockatoo to nearly take the leg off a senegal parrot). If not, I'd be happy to but I don't know what state he is in. My sister is an avian vet, and I'm also going to share the video with her. This man is either totally ignorant or a complete sadist. It broke my heart to hear the cries of the cockatiel and puppy who were bitten by the monkey within a 3 minute video!!!!

Edit: I just read through more of the posts and I do not know how anyone can condone this man after watching the video. I think he does need to be reported for animal cruelty and neglect and I intend to do so. I don't care how 'friendly' or 'neighborly' he comes across or how 'knowledgeable' he professes himself to be. The blatant disregard for the safety of the animals in this video is disgusting and appalling. If this is what he allows on film, God only knows what happens to these poor creatures once the cameras are off.

 

[FineFeatheredFriend]

I totally agree with everything you have said. I have always loved his shows. I believe there is a lot of misunderstanding going on. I personally have learned how to get birds to exercise by watching a particular show he did.

He explained that the reason he started keeping all the animals on 1 table was because the studio where he wa shooting did not provide heat. So having all the animals together kept them warm. Now that was back in the early 80's. I guess now he is used to doing that as a routine now.

Far as the comments about him making money, well he is running a business. Not some free bird shelter.

The most disturbing comment that got under my skin was about an elephant doing harm to him personally. All I can say is wow! It is one thing to be passionate about animals but yet the same people want to do harm to their fellow human beings. That is very disturbing.

Marc Morrone seems to me a person who just loves animals and fame found him. Not the other way around.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

I've never liked his show, right away I was put off by how many animals were kept together and never cared to see it again. They should of been able to set up heat lamps if the studio was cold! There is no excuse for those animals being together other than looking cool. He does have some good information, but I can't stand the infomercial feel of it all. And then there are those jesses he is selling! It also seems a bit strange to me that he had so many pets, more like a collector who wants one of everything.

There is no doubt he loves animals, but not all animal lovers should be educators.

 

[khaiqha]

He doesn't seem that bad based on his shows. I don't know where all this "all mighty dollar" stuff comes from. He's stated several times that if you can't give the proper care for an animal than you shouldn't have one. He's also very knowledgeable on exotics and has one of the longest living, if not the longest living fruit bat in captivity.

I don't know how I feel about the jesses. Kestrels can be several times smaller than parrots and use jesses. As for vets being against it, vets almost always want to clip a bird which I am completely against. I still will probably not use the jesses on my alexandrine though.

And on a tangent, I'm against outdoor cats for numerous reasons. If you watch the videos where cameras were put on cats, you see them kill wildlife, some of which are endangered, drink nasty water from bad sources, get in fights with wild animals, risk exposure to disease and parasites, etc

 

[JerseyWendy]

My blood is BOILING after watching the video. Unfortunately I can't say here what I would like to say about this guy. I'm sure you get my drift.

 

[noblemacaw]

Personally I am not impressed with Mark Monroe parrot jesses either and I would not use them on Valentino. The material they are made out of seem not to be able to withstand the RFM beak. I could see Valentino chew right through it with is propensity to chew on soft plastic.

I am quite pleased with the aviator harness. Valentino is secure in it and can fly with it on giving him the freedom of flight but not free flying. In the over 20 years I have been harnessing parrots I am most impressed with Aviator's design.