Problem solved.
Posted on 04/13/2005 1:50:05 PM PDT by presidio9
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and San Diego-based Petco Animal Supplies Inc. announced an agreement on Tuesday. PETA will end its campaign against the national pet food and supply retailer and Petco will end the sale of large birds in its stores.
Don Cowan, director of communications for Petco, said the two organizations have disagreed on this issue for a couple of years and the deal marks a truce. PETA agreed it will take down its "PetcoCruelty" Web site, remove all references to "Petno" on all sites affiliated with the organization and withdraw its support of the use of the "Petno" logo by other groups.
"We believe that all birds should have the freedom to fly and be with others of their own kind, but large birds are exceptionally hard hit by captivity, and we commend Petco for deciding to help discourage their lifetime confinement," said Ingrid Newkirk, PETA's president, in a written statement. "We hope other responsible retailers follow Petco's lead in this regard."
PETA intends to assist Petco in enlisting accredited bird rescue groups to work with the company in its in-store adoption program.
The end of selling large birds is not a material issue to Petco, according to Cowan, who said Petco will continue to sell smaller birds like finches. The company will continue to work with its shelter partners to help adopt not only dogs and cats but also homeless birds of all sizes as part of its established "Think Adoption First" program. Petco has also improved its practices and procedures for animal care such as taking all animals outside for hourly walks and offering training programs for animal care. Petco also investigates the venders it acquires animals from.
Petco looks at this as one of a series of steps weve taken to ensure that all animals in the store are well cared for, Cowan said. In the total scheme it was the right thing to do.
I bought 2 finches ....but bought a cage where it was tall but narrow. THEN I find out that they need WIDTH instead of Height....so I had to go and buy a wide cage for them. They must like it because within 6 weeks I had 6 of them! They didn't even wait to get to know eachother before sharing the same bed. :) Now I just take the eggs out every week. I never knew they were so prolific.
A) PETA is a leftist front organization.
B) Someone who has been here for two years is not a "newbie."
C) Tenure is the last refuge of the logically defeated here.
D) Before you ask, I have been here since 1998.
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"That can be said about all animals. Not just your preference for birds.
Either you support pet ownership or you don't."
I have no preference for birds, actually I don't really like them. I do support pet ownership, but NOT bird ownership because they can't fly around a large area.
I own a horse, but he has a companion and plenty of space to run, jump and the freedom the graze. I have a cat whose life's gaol is get out the front door. When I get home, I accompany him outdoors for at least 1/2 an hour so he can eat grass, hunt and climb trees. Basic instincts. To deny an animal their basic instincts is CRUEL, and birds that can't fly around are not happy birds, this I am sure of. We have an obligation to be good stewards, if we can't we have no business being blessed by pets.
If you have a dog, you should be flogged if he doesn't have room to roam or at least an owner who walks him. I know people whose dogs spend their whole lives in little yards or chained to a tree. I'd like to chain those people to trees and see how they feel about it. I know people with horses who don't have room to roam and never get to go out for a ride.
DOWN WITH THEM ALL and all people who ruin critter lives!
If I ran the country, they would have to be licensed pet owners. There's a little Nazi in all of us, and I have a soft spot for animals. Anyone who abuses, neglects or harms an innocent animal would be JAILED if I ran the nation. So don't elect me if you don't like it.
Problem solved.
You're absolutely right about that. After a while, a bird almost seems to think it's human if it interacts enough with you. I had a cockatiel when I was younger that could fly, but he seldom did. If he wanted to get from the floor to the top of the couch, he'd crawl all the way up the side until he got where he wanted. Sometimes it was really funny to watch. He liked to fly around outside during the sumnmer, but wouldn't stay out long because other birds wanted to pick on him.
Birds, especially large ones like African Greys, and cockatoos are very time-consuming animals to have. To keep them happy and healthy, you really have to spend a lot of time with them. They also can live longer than you do, so it's important to make provisions in your will for them. Winston Churchill's parrot is still alive and kicking at 112 years of age, and still says "F**k Hitler" in Winston Churchill's voice.
That's the best description of a parrot I've ever seen!
I was able to pleas by my son to get a large snake by saying we would have to have breeder mice to feed to the snake.
That's your opinion and you're welcome to it. I don't like their tactics or a lot of their stands. But on this issue I happen to agree with them. There's enough unwanted parrots in rescues and no reason to continue mass-breeding and selling parrots through a chain store like Petco.
What birds do you have ? I have a Congo Grey and a Blue-Headed Pionus.
LOL love your description
I'll admit I know nothing specific about birds, other than that they fly. I still have a problem with hobbling a bird by clipping its wings and putting it in a cage.
That said, they do like the freedom to be out of their cage and interacting with the things in their environment, at least for a time, and they definately seek the security of their cage in the evening (at bedtime). They are playful animals who do need mental stimulation to keep from being bored.
No matter where the Pionus is in the house, at around 6:30 PM he jumps onto the floor and runs back to his cage to go to bed. And you'd better have a good reason for disturbing him before 6:30AM ! At 6:30 he wakes up and as loudly as he can, he alerts you to the fact that he's survived another night and he wants to see if you did too.
I have 2 dogs and love them dearly, but birds are fascinating companions. Dogs are easier to handle than birds, but the rewards of interacting with birds are correspondingly greater.
Did you ever hear the story about Andrew Jackson's parrot ? In his will he stipulated that the parrot should attend his funeral, but the bird proved to be so foul-mouthed and loud that they had to remove partway thru.
This is a common misunderstanding among people who know nothing about these birds.
You make an assumption about my knowledge, I know and realize what birds are created for and it is not in my opinion to be in a cage in someone's house. I have seen one too many of these exotic birds abused.
Of course, no animal, bird or otherwise, should be abused. Ditto for humans. But, just as removing guns does not stop violent crime, not selling animals in the pet trade does not stop abuse.
I just don't think people should cage birds. It's just my opinion.
Also I never mentioned birds flying in my post, I think you read a post to me.
Thanks for the insight.
I've never been a bird person (dogs), but that clears it up for me. Thanks.
You're sure doing your best to put forward a worst case scenario for avian ownership, aren't you.
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