To think a parrot shouldn't be a pet?

[Burnt0utMum]

Just seen a man on a bike outside the corner shop sat with a beautiful parrot on his shoulder. It had a cable attached to its leg so it can't fly away. He was smoking so it was breathing it all in, which makes it worse but it still didn't sit right with me even ignoring that. Part of me thinks these are wild animals that should be left to be wild and allowed to fly free, but then I'm asking myself if it's really that much different to a typical domestic pet like a cat or a dog. AIBU to think a parrot shouldn't be a pet?

I’m uncomfortable with parrots as pets because they are extremely intelligent. Even more so than dolphins in many respects.

Parrots are birds. Pokenxhixkwns. How many people give a shit that they get abused, kicked, punched and plucked while they are still alive
Either you care about animals.or you don't. If you eat them, you are worse than the parrot guy.

Do you think that current species of cats and dogs would be able to look after themselves? Have we bred and domesticated them in a way that they would or wouldn’t be able to live and survive happily in the wild?

No animal should be caged, I hate the whole pet shop idea that you can buy a shit cage/hutch and restrict an animal for your own pleasure.

@Musti honestly I think dogs and cats at the moment are like teenagers.

Some of them wouldn't survive a day - they have no common sense or real world awareness.

Others would absolutely thrive without us restricting them every day.

I think cats are much more independent than dogs. I've known cats disappear for months on end and fend for themselves.

So are chickens. In my rage against casual cruelty I misspelled

Our neighbours have a huge hollow gum tree which is home to dozens of cockatoos. They have so much fun wheeling through the sky, shouting to each other and doing acrobatics on the branches. They fly miles every day.

If you look for videos of wild budgerigars, their flocks are enormous - thousands in a good season - and they are capable of flying 500km in a day.

So no, I’m not a fan, even though some PPs are obviously doing their best by their birds.

Totally agree OP. They are so intelligent and spend their lives trapped in small cages. Even if the cage isn't small by usual standards, it's tiny by a birds standards. Like pp above who boasts that their parrot has space to fly 8m - that bird would naturally fly miles every day! 8m is nothing.

There are many problems with cat and dog ownership as well, but it's a different issue. The clue is in the name, they are domestic animals. For better or worse, they have evolved with us and 50 000 years later, a domestic dog is genetically a different species to a wolf. Cats and dogs want to live with us and do well living in our spaces. If let free, they come back.

You can tame a parrot but you can't domesticate one.

I agree. Birds shouldn't be kept as pets. Or anything caged really.

It breaks my heart to see a bird in a cage. The height of cruelty, to keep them like that seems so antiquated. Birds should be free to fly. The fact the parrot was tethered to the man speaks volumes

Completely agree @RaisinGhost - we often say “hello” to a cockatoo sitting on a fence or branch nearby, as frequently it will say “hello” back - suggesting it’s escaped from being a pet in the past - before it flies off to rejoin the flock.

How's it different to chickens and turkeys being boxed and packed up while still alive and being transported in the hot sum for hours on end before being kicked, punched and ridiculed by the subhuman morons at the slaughter House before being picked while still alive? I just can't understand how anyone who eats chicken would say anything like owning and caring for a bird is cruel. I rescue and rehabilitate pigeons, they can be incredibly affectionate and form attachments with their Foster dog mum. Other people call them vermin. It's all.the same, living creatures, double standards.n

I think cats are much more independent than dogs. I've known cats disappear for months on end and fend for themselves.

On the other hand, plenty of cats get themselves run over, stuck in sheds or under things and starve.

Feral cats often end up in horrendous shape by living a "natural" life. They end up flea infested, covered in mites, caught in fights, injured and die very young compared to domestic cats with homes and access to healthcare and good quality food etc.

Well I (and most others here probably) don't think that is right either and are totally against it. However it's a different issue. We can't discuss every issue in every thread.

No nut one life is more valuable than the other?

I ended up with a very large parrot in my garden the other day. Bastard drew blood as I took it back to its owner.

Theres a group of brightly coloured haired young women that have them as emotional support animals and take them up to a field near us at let them fly. It’s a mainly dog walking field so going to end up in tears and feathers.

I don't even agree with dog or cat ownership. What happened during covid exasperated how I feel too. It's not that humans aren't capable of looking after animals it's that all animals deserve to live wild and be free to do what they want to do. All sorts of things result from animals being forced to be kept as pets.

@FurAndFeathers

Thank you for the info on uv. I agree that I was mistaken about that and I have read up on this now and have ordered a uv lamp. FYI my parrot does not spend 8-12 hours a day in his cage. Unless he chooses to go inside and sit in it for a while during the day (the door is open all the time except at night), he is out of it for about 14 hours every day. He has human company most of the time. I don't wish to engage in a debate on all that you had to say as we are all allowed our own points of view even if they differ.

That is old language linked to outdated and inhumane practices in horse training.

We now say "starting", not "breaking" or "breaking in". Starting is done with extreme care, very gently and slowly, over days or even weeks. There is no coercion or force involved... it starts with building an extremely close bond of trust and wanting to be with a person - the horse sees the trainer/rider as his safe place. Have a look at "joining up" videos for a start. Check out how Kelly Marks works - these are the methods now used.

where is he for the other 10 hours if he’s not in his cage and only out in the house for 14 hours?
i’m glad you read the resources and got a UV lamp 😊 I think it’s important to continually evaluate what we’re doing and critically evaluate what good welfare looks like - sadly for most owners, that is based on their opinion - as you say everyone is entitled to an opinion.
it would just be lovely if more pet owners could engage in evidence based decision-making and research and consider the impacts of their opinion-based choices - certainly if they did many animals would have much better lives.

Owning pets is a responsibility not a right and whilst it’s possible to own many species as pets, effectively providing good welfare is a different matter, and is logistically incredibly difficult for solitary psittacines.

I am very torn on birds as pets - because the birds that form the best bonds with people and talk and understand much.. are also the birds most likely to suffer from poor husbandry and housing, the most attractive to the wrong people who do not understand their needs let alone meet them and often the birds who are most at risk in the wild.

But on the other hand - the Spix Macaw is still alive due to captive keeping (mainly zoos) and is being reintroduced.

I'd like to see captive birds licenced, on a scheme that works like the DWAL, where housing and knowledge are checked (I do realise the DWAL scheme is also flawed and varies from county to county) - so ONLY those actually capable of meeting a particular birds needs can actually have one.

The captive pet animal world is full of poor handling, lack of understanding on animals needs, on how they learn and think..

There are people convinced they're doing their best, and are up to speed - for example natural horsemanship in horses, touted as being natural, kind, not based in the force and brutality of the old style 'horse breaking'...

But NH methods all rely on the application of pressure/pain/something unpleasant (positive punishment) and the removal of that (negative reinforcement) which is not natural, nor is it kind, its actually very stressful - most users of these methods are wholly unaware of the science behind what they are doing of course, and are simply seeking to do better.

Most dog owners havent a clue, as is evidenced by those who believe Cesar Milan and Graeme Hall are fantastic trainers, or those who follow Southend Dog Trainer or Fenrir dog training on tiktok - all those trainers use positive punishment and talk total twaddle but they do so with a grin and some flair and make it look super duper easy and sensible... it is nigh on impossible to evaluate a method if you haven't the prior education to understand whats happening and why it works.

But humans have always had a desire to share their lives with animals in some way - it wouldn't be possible to ban it, nor should we (says the keeper of tropical fish, tropical frogs and non-tropical dogs!). We just need to DO BETTER!

I've posted under this name before

Next door have a parrot, they went away for a week and covered the parrot up 24/7 with just someone feeding it once a day. I could hear it 'screaming' RSPB wouldn’t help and parrot rescue charity couldn’t help

they haven’t put a cover on it 24 hours since I spoke to them but I can still hear it chirping away stuck in its tiny cage 24 hours a day

people like this shouldn’t be allowed to own parrots

No it was to understand as if your in the usa leg chains are common and wild caught birds are still allowed it's banned in the UK

Well i would agree if their natural habitats weren't being destroyed.
If they are well looked after yabu.

How does pet ownership safeguard against habitat destruction?
define ‘well looked after’