future. They don't care where they go. As the more expensive become harder to sell, the same applies. In this case, many ar e sold befor e they are weaned, even Ov e r -p r od u c t i o n to people who have absolutely no experience in feeding and weaning a young parrot. 3. If parr ot production in Eur ope ceased tomorr ow, it would take to find good homes of parrot s for all the unwanted and ill- treated parr ots which even now desperately need to be Giant implications for parrot welfare with sympathetic people. By by ROSEMARY LOW producing more and more Peter Them fr om Denmark wrote to us in July regarding a problem which all par rot young, breeders are creating a breeders need to face up to. In his opinion: problem which has become apparent only in the past five “In recent years there has been a Alas, this is not the case. Parrot, has declined years or so, and which is set great revolution in in I have seen parrot breeding go dramatically. This has led to to escalate to very serious the , as well as full circle, fr om being a rare wide availability of many propor tions. I refer to globally. Modern technology and event to a mass-pr oduction species at very low prices. The unwanted and those new knowledge in the hands of trade, in which thousands of result is that many members which are not unwanted but br eeders has resulted in parr ots are kept and br ed in of the parrot become are kept in totally unsuitable many parrots and other birds, conditions little better than the subject of impulse conditions. The day before I including species which those of commercial poultr y. I buying. Cheap bir ds are wrote this ar ticle I was told formerly seldom br ed in find this immensely disturbing, inadequately housed because about a pair of Long-tailed captivity, being bred in large partly because parr ots have a spacious cage costs perhaps and a pair of numbers Ð enough to supply the such awar eness and ten times as much as the bird. Patagonian which avicultural and trades. that close confinement in an Cheap birds are not valued had been kept in a flat, each “There is now an oversupply of unstimulating envir onment is a and are given away or even pair in a Sonya cage (a pet many parrot species in thoughtless form of cruelty. liberated when they become type cage measuring 24in x aviculture and ther e is no need too much trouble or when the 15in x 25in high - 61cm x to take more birds fr om the But this is not giving a direct family goes on holiday. 38cm x 63cm) with a nest-box wild. With the dramatic incr ease answer to the question of 2. When breeders cannot sell attached to the side. Sadly, as in captive breeding, aviculture whether aviculturists should their young or obtain a in the case of cats and dogs, has become self-sufficient. The continue to mass produce realistic price they ar e, as there will always be people prices of most par rots and other parrots. My answer is no Peter Them states, desperate who keep their in a birds have crashed in r ecent because: to get rid of them. They will totally inappropriate way, years. Many breeders tell me 1. Demand for all species with sell them or give them away usually out of ignorance. Bir d that they ar e not allowing their the exception of the Gr ey without a thought about their magazines do not reach these parrots to br eed this season, as they cannot sell or give away the young birds. The par rot market, local as well as national and global, has come to a standstill. Sales are poor and prices have dropped tremendously over the past few years. People are desperately trying to get rid of their par rots at very low prices. Should aviculture continue to mass- produce parrots and other bir ds?” It is ver y obvious that the answer to this question is: NO. Or perhaps I should qualify this with the suggestion that it is very obvious to those who care about parrot welfar e and the plight of individual birds, yet a subject to which the commercial breeder hardly gives a thought. His only concern is pr ofit. When trade is in living cr eatures ethics should play a very strong par t. Parrots in pet store in . Clearly the space given is inadequate.

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M Y K C M Y K C M Y K C M Y K C M Y K C M Y K C M Y K C M Y K C M Y K pr oblem of being unable to sell infertile of appr oximately the young is usually dealt with the same size, or with plastic by selling the br eeding pair. eggs. Removing the nest-box can I now limit the number of young be very stressful and might I br eed to a total of four or five result in the male attacking the a , of which perhaps only female. The strategy should var y two or thr ee are sold. Some of accor ding to the circumstances my bir ds are past breeding age. of each pair. With others I remove eggs so At the end of the day, it is the that they are only per mitted to breeder who contr ols the r ear one chick as I believe it is number of young parr ots unfair and stressful to some available. He controls the supply bir ds to stop them breeding. but not the demand. If the Some pairs gr eatly enjoy the demand is not there, breeders experience of r earing young (and must act with the interests in I do mean to fledging) and it mind of the young they have or gives them a purpose. It is could produce. If the market is always a joy to see the young not there, mindlessly allowing Mass production leads to Greys and other parrots being bred in tiers of cramped, dark one with its par ents in the . the birds to breed year after cages. year only exacerbates the With some species, and this problem of low prices and people and aviculturists and he would have bred as many includes lories, the most informed pet owners may young, if not more. reduced demand. The humane way of preventing bir ds consequences for individual never have any contact with 6. The desire to mass-pr oduce them. I believe that over- fr om breeding is to leave the birds is appalling. That is why has resulted in most of the young one in the aviary and to so many parrot rescue centr es production of parrots r esults lar ger parr ots being hand- in more bir ds getting into the remove the nest-box. Last year have come into existence during rear ed for pets. Many end up my Stella's Lorikeets pr oduced a the past five years or so. hands of such people, often in pet shops and because they through auctions where no young male of the melanistic The breeder who says he must are so tame and appealing form. As the latter is not as information on care is available they are bought by people sell young to pay for the upkeep at the time of purchase. popular as the r ed Stella's, I of his other birds, is in a Catch who would not other wise could not find anyone who have considered owning a 22 situation, especially as 4. It is a myth that captive- wanted him. He has for med a parrots and parakeets ar e so breeding of par rots lessens parrot. Too often they ar e very str ong bond with his father. ignorant of the time and long-lived. The only responsible the demand for impor ted They spend hours r olling around answer is to stop br eeding and birds. The two issues ar e commitment needed to give in play on the aviar y floor. His such a bird a good quality of look after the birds until they unrelated. Importation occurs pr esence prevents the male fr om die or can be found suitable not because there is a life. Especially with , the outcome more tr ying to mate with the female. homes. Unfortunately, not many demand for imported parrots Of course, if the young one had people are pr epared to do this. but because there are often than not is a young bird which is sold before it is been a female this solution exporters and importers who would not have been possible. A sense of responsibility and a can make money from the weaned. The str ess and commi tment for life to the bir ds exercise. They care not that a anxiety that the forced As a last r esort, the best method which people keep is so often large pr oportion of these weaning it usually suf fers, of pr eventing production is to lacking. Sadly we live in a imported birds are dead within af fects its pet potential. Its r eplace a female's eggs with throw-away society. screaming or whining r esults a few weeks. Importers and in many cockatoos having NOTE: We intend to discuss the whole subject of par rot welfar e, some retailers know that they four or five homes before can sell imported Greys and they are one year old. Many including ‘rescue and rehabilitation’, in our November issue. Orange-winged Amazons, for end up str essed and plucked Please send any comments or pr oposals to the editor. example, because they are half in rescue centr es. Parent- the price of captive-bred birds. rearing is seldom permitted 5. Mass production, and because maximum production sometimes even production is the aim and cockatoos will by the back garden br eeder lay multiple clutches in one who has only a few , season. (Sometimes it is results in many bir ds being because the br eeder does not kept in appalling conditions. have the skill to pr ovide the The week before I wrote this I conditions which enable a was in Europe and visited a pair to r ear their young to breeder who had 100 pairs of independence.) Grey Parr ots. They were kept Peter Them stated that many in dark conditions in cages no breeders ar e not permitting more than one metre wide. He their par rots to breed this year. told me that they bred better He must know breeders with a that way. In fact his results sense of r esponsibility. At least from so many pairs were ver y in the UK, I seldom encounter poor indeed. If he had kept par rot owners who make a one third the number of pairs conscious decision not to per mit in cages three times as large their bir ds to breed. The Stella’s Lorikeets bred by Rosemary Low.

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