Who will be their next target? And, how long will it take before they go after Petco again?
You can't cave to these ideologues. They will fight you anyway, and caving in only allows them to change the subject.
I don't get it? Because large birds are "hard hit" because they can't fly around? Petco bowed to this liberal lunacy? Parrots have been sold and kept for centuries. Answer these:
1. What was PETA's real legal argument against Petco?
2. Why didn't Petco SUE PETA for slander, libel and malicous harassment (website crap)?
3. Why did PETCO pander to these looney-tunes?
PETCO just made a huge mistake and set a REAL BAD PRECEDENT.
I once went looking for feeder mice there for my python, they acted like I was a sick murderer. Hey, you sell snakes, what do they eat? Hello?
I loathe Peta but I also hate seeing beautiful macaws/parrots in cages, they are not meant to be kept in a cage. But if people would stop buying them, these companies would stop selling them.
I wouldn't want PETA harassing me while fishing, but agree with them that it is really cruel to put a bird in a cage, denying them their most basic instinct to fly freely. That would be like a human being put in a closet for life.
Sorry, bird owners, to poop on your parade. I don't disagree with an idea just because people I don't like hold a similar view on one or two issues.
PeTa's ultimate goal is to stop any and all "exploitation" of animals as pets, for sports, entertainment, or food. They're whittling away at our rghts one step at a time, as well as supporting terrorists like ELF and ALF.
Darn! I wanted to buy a penguin.
The reason Petco shouldn't be selling these birds is because there are a huge number of them stuck in cramped underfunded bird shelters, waiting for adoptive homes that will never come for most of them. These large hookbills often to live to age 75, so even if the people who buy young ones (and all the ones sold at Petco were young) keep them for the rest of their lives, the birds often outlive their owners. And of course many people experience changes in their lives over a few decades, that make it impossible for them to keep a pet that they were originally able to care for well.
These birds seem to be quite happy in captivity, as long as they have a home where they're well cared for, and enough room to spread their wings and walk around. Some owners even take them on regular trips to aviaries where they can fly safely.
Ping
Damn. I'll have to go somewhere else to get a pet diatryma.
"'...said Ingrid Newkirk, PETA's president, in a written statement. 'We hope other responsible retailers follow Petco's lead in this regard.'"
No negotiating with Terrorists. Ever! Petco, you screwed this one up. Give the PET(A)errorists an inch, and they'll take a mile!
That said...thanks to you "big bird lovers" for all the information on this post about caring for parrots and the like. I've never kept a pet bird, though I do raise laying hens and have a new brood (5 days old...they're soooo cute!) feathering out as I type. I can understand how someone could fall for a bird...my hens are really a lot of fun with minimal effort and great reward monetarily and in eggs.
Before you think I've gone all "mushy" on ya, the roosters DO end up in the stewpot. Sorry. Don't rat me out to PETA, LOL!