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Do You Feel Guilty About Keeping an African Grey in a Cage?

Published Saturday, August 16, 2008 by bloggerblognet22596 | E-mail this post

If you have an African Grey parrot, or any other pet bird for that matter, it is going to spend most of its life in a cage. It is like putting the bird in a prison for its entire life. "But wait a minute", you would say, "a parrot is only a bird." Yes it's only a bird, an animal that has been given wings to fly free. Wings that no other animals or humans are privileged to have. And yet, humans keep birds in a cage preventing them from flying.

If you feel guilty of keeping a pet parrot, don't. Under captivity, a parrot is leading a better life and may live to its full lifetime of 80 years, outliving its own master. In the wild, a parrot may not survive that long. While we acknowledge that it is a beautiful thing to fly and live free, the jungle or forest where most wild parrots are found, are not exactly a haven. Parrots are exposed to all kinds of dangers in the wild. Firstly there is man, who hunts birds for food and don't care if the bird they catch is a chicken or a parrot. If it was a parrot, he would probably sell it for more money than a chicken considering that a parrot in some countries can be considered exotic. Then there are also poachers, who hunt bird species for their medicinal value that they think the bird possesses or sell them to bird markets who in turn sell the birds to people who have no desire to keep birds as pets.

Besides man, the jungle community itself poses a lot of danger. There are the bigger birds that prey on smaller species. And then there are monkeys to share a tree with. With land clearing that is rampant as more and more countries industrialize and modernize, parrots are losing their natural habitat. The birds are competing with other creatures in the wild for food, not to mention with other birds. It is survival of the fittest, and only the strongest survive.

Then there are diseases. How does a parrot cure itself of a disease, or injury, in the wild? It doesn't. Most birds die when inflicted with injury or illness. And what happens to their young chicks or eggs when a mother parrot dies? Unlike humans, there are no bird orphanages in the wild. They either fend for themselves or they die too, by hunger or by being eaten by other bigger creatures.

So if you feel guilty keeping your pet parrot and denying it the freedom to fly, think of the good side. What are the chances of your pet parrot living a full happy life in the wild? Your parrot is enjoying life in a cozy home with a great master, feeding on bird food full of nutrients not found in the wild. The love and attention that your bird gets from your friends and visitors, unequal any that they would get living in the jungles of the Amazon or Central Africa. The toys that they get to play with and the professional vets that take care of their health are privileges only found in captivity. If your parrot can speak to you, I am certain it would thank you for giving it a fun, safe and fulfilling life.

Azmi Adnan is a writer and a bird enthusiast. Subscribe to his newsletter for fresh video clips on parrots and other bird species, ezines and interesting bird stories at his website http://www.power-to-live.com/parrot.html

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