Parrots, as proven by researchers like Dr. Irene Pepperberg, are highly intelligent and emotionally complex creatures, rivaling the great apes in intellect. It has been determined that their intellect compares to that of a human toddler. As such, parrots babies like human babies, need love, specialized care and instruction to become emotionally whole adults.
Imagine this scenario. Human infants in playpens lined up in a room by the hundreds. Robot attendants, who don�t speak human language, are assigned to feed the babies at the proper intervals. They don�t attempt to love or teach the babies in any way, they simply take care of their nutritional needs. After a time these babies have grown to the point where they can feed themselves, but during this time they received only on food and clean diapers. They received no love, no instruction, and no human interaction. Adoptive families come to claim their beautiful baby never realizing that these children are totally unsocialized, have attachment disorder and are totally incapable of functioning in human society in a normal manner. They scream, kick or bite to get their way, they don�t want hugs & kisses, they are not potty trained, etc. Broken-hearted the families realize they will have to relinquish these children because they are too damaged to live in human society.
This is what large pet store chains in the US are doing to parrots. The ones that make it to the pet stores are then turned over to untrained hourly employees to be cared for. Many chicks are killed outright by over or underfeeding, burned crops, strangulation, etc. Those that make it until they are weaned are usually frightened, untamed, antisocial misfits that can�t ever become a pet. Thus begins the cycle of being handed from home to home., If they are lucky, they might wind up in a parrot sanctuary. More often they are euthanized or killed by abuse or neglect. Is this the way to treat a toddler? I don�t� think so.
In theory, I don�t believe anyone can really justify keeping wild animals as pets. They should be left in the wild where they are genetically programmed to survive.
The reality is that there is a huge population of captive-bred parrots and most cannot and will not be released to live in the wild. I have two captive-bred parrots myself. However, since these animals have been taken out of their natural habitat and made helpless to survive by us, they are our responsibility and we are their guardians. Just like human children they are entitled to humane treatment. I don�t fool myself into thinking that I can stop captive breeding. My only goal is to try and educate the public so that pet parrots are bred by responsible, educated and ethical breeders, who love them and teach them to become the best pets they can be, so they can live with and be loved by their human flock.. I want to do everything I can to STOP the assembly line breeding of parrots and the only way I can be sure to do so is to tell everyone I meet PLEASE DO NOT BUY PARROTS OR ANY PETS FROM PET STORES. The least you can expect to happen is to be robbed as they are sold for highly inflated prices; the worst is the heartache you will incur when you find yourself the proud owner of a sickly or untrained pet that is a nightmare to keep and a heart-break to give away. Do yourself and captive-bred parrots a favor, read my information on how to find a breeder and buy your bird there, or better yet, find a rescue group and adopt a parrot. Most of the larger parrots live 80+ years and there are many that are well-trained and middle-aged that will live for the rest of your life.
Animals are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time.
~Henry Beston~