Wild Parrot Pet Trade (Must Read!)

apatrimo94

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Jun 15, 2010
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Bartleby-Pearl Cockatiel
S'mores-Albino Parakeet
A few weeks ago, I went on a trip to the Bronx Zoo with a teacher and two other classmates. It was a pleasure trip for my environmental class, yes, it's just us!!! A teacher with three students in one class :eek:

Anyway, so we went to the Zoo. There's a building there called the World of Birds. It's absolutely amazing. I was hoping to see a lot of parrots, but they only had two Amazons, which they were pretty cool. And next to their habitat were these two big billboards with amazing info I've seen. I took pictures of them but they're hard to see, so I'm going to type what they say.

Billboard 1: This discusses the wild parrot trade.

On top of the bill board, it says "1 pet parrot = up to 19 dead parrots from the wild" (This chilling statistic will be explained in three steps)

These are three steps:
Step 1: Taking birds from the wild
Only 15 out of 20 survive this step.
-Trees are cut down
-Nests are destoryed
-Eggs are broken
-Chicks are killed
-Birds are injured

Step 2: Holding and transpot to America
Of the 15 parrots previously mentioned, only 7 survive this step
-Cramped spaces cause stress
-Birds are exposed to diseases
-Birds are exposed to too much heat or cold
-Birds are incompatible
-Food and water is inadequate when available

Step 3: Quarentine and delivery to stores
Of the 7 previously mentioned, only one survives
-They reject new routines and diets
-Traveling causes stress
-Exposed to more envionmental extremes and diseases

Now when you add up those dead parrots from the three steps, you get 19 with only one survivor.

Then after the steps, it says "Action." Then there's good news and bad news:

Good News:
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) helped pass legislation to stop the bird trade:
-New York State-Bird Bill Regulations
-New Jersey-Bird Law
-USA-Wild Bird Conservation Act
As a result:
-Millions fewer birds are killed in the bird trade
-more birds are being bred in captivity

Bad News:
Unfortunately, there's still an active bird trade going on in other countries, as well as illegal bird smuggling into the United States.

"There is much more to be done to help these parrots!!!"

Then there were replicas of how parrots and parrot eggs from the wild used to be transported:
apatrimo94-albums-randoms-picture1371-fake-dead-parrots-1.jpg

apatrimo94-albums-randoms-picture1372-fake-dead-parrots-2.jpg


Then on the second billboard, it tells people the reality of having a parrot if they still want to get one. On the top it says, "If you still want a parrot, listen to this!"

I need constant attention:
I am like a 2 year old child. Are you ready for that? You must talk to me and be a constant companion. You must never leave me alone or I may pluck my feathers, chew dangerous things I can reach, or bite.

I may screech:
I make very loud noises. My screech equals the sound of a passing subway train. And I may chatter constantly.

I can be very messy, spilling food and feathers all over the room.

I could live to be forty:
Unlike a two year old, I never "grow up." I may have a lifespan of 40 years. I will always need the same amount of attention and care.

If you get me a mate:
I may no longer be friendly or interested in you. I won't love you anymore, I will love my mate. Or I might hate my mate, and fight.

I may not talk:
Getting a bird to say words takes a lot of time and discipline. Many birds never learn to talk.

What happens when you don't want me anymore?:
WSC's Bronx Zoo gets over 300 phones calls a year from people who don't want to take care of us birds anymore.
The zoo can't possibly take care of all of us, but WSC has helped create Fauna Link-a non-profit organization-to set up breeding pairs and find new homes for a few abandoned birds.
The rest of us are HISTORY!

If you still want to get a parrot, make sure you don't buy one taken from the wild!

Get Captive Bred birds. Why?
Captive bred birds are accustomed to people, so therefore they're:
-easier to train
-healthier than wild birds
-less likely to get or transmit diseases to people and birds.
-accustomed to a captive diet and lifestyle
-have not been stressed with so much shipping and handling
-have not been exposed to many diseases

Before you adopt/buy a bird:
-buy directly from the breeder or get information about the breeder from the seller
-Look for banded birds so you can trace their origins. Closed-ringed or solid bands can only be put on baby birds. This usually indicates that the bird is captive-bred.
-Ask to see the health certificates and insist on getting the origins of all birds. Is it captive-bred? From where? By whom?


Whoooo, all done, that sure was a LOT of typing (lol), but I hope many of you get a lot of information from this. Another thing too, this is not about breeding birds, this is about the wild bird trade. Thank you for reading.
 

Crazy4Birds

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Oct 20, 2010
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CT and FL
Parrots
Nicky (sun conure); RIP Gracie (senegal) and Benson (cockatiel)
I have been to the Bronx Zoo many times and the World of Birds is always my favorite part of the entire zoo! I remember reading those billboards and it is so sad that people will take these poor birds out of the wild and treat them like they aren't even live beings. It is kind of strange to think about it because if the wild parrot pet trade never existed in the first place then we would never have our beloved feathered companions. But now that there are enough breeders established, the wild parrot trade needs to stop!
 

SharonC

New member
May 26, 2010
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Thanks AP....That was a lot of typing but well worth it! I'm afraid I'd forever be without a feathered friend if I had to rely on getting one from it's natural habitat. It's so sad to take a bird, used to a free life, and bring it into our homes.
 

Spiritbird

Banned
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Aug 20, 2009
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This is a subject that is near and dear to my heart. Many other countries still import wild birds for money. It is so cruel. Thanks so much for your posting.
 

HRH Di

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Jan 9, 2010
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McKinney, TX
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Max - Alexandrine, Jade - Red-Front Macaw, Ruby - CAG
Thanks, Diego. This is very important information for every parrot lover.

Personally, I feel that most of the people catching wild parrots do it to feed their families. Considering the extreme poverty in most of these areas, it's hard to convince these people the value of conservation. The people who hold the most blame are the poaching ring leaders. And selfish or uneducated people who buy them because they don't know or don't care.
 

Birdzhaven

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Oct 30, 2010
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Dallas, TX
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B&G Macaw, African Grey Congos, Timnehs, Brown-necks, Meyers, DYH Amazon... :-)
Whew! That was a lot of typing but well worth the effort, Thanks for sharing! Great information!
 

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