Is it cruel to keep parrots at pets?

Question

Caging birds that live free in the jungle, is that wrong?

Answer 1

Yeah if you take a Parrot out of the jungles and cage them it is crule, but birds that are born domesticated have to rely on their owners to care for them, they wouldnt know how to care for themselves if they were ever let lose.


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Answer 2

Leave the ones in the wild stay wild. If you obtain one from a qualified & responsible breeder and get the parrot as baby (hand feed) -- I'd say it's not cruel if you can give the parrot the best possible life. Their upkeep can be costly and they need a lot of attention. Then you have to think that some parrots can outlive you depending on your age now. And it's hard for them to adjust to a new owner many times. Maybe another type bird would be best for you.

Whatever you decide they really are beautiful creatures!

Answer 3

These days pet parrots have been bred in captivity; so it isn't cruel to keep them if you can give them attention and love and a varied diet. Many such birds can be trained to follow you around, even outside, and will return to their cages because they want to and feel safe there. (Don't try it until you have trained it indoors first though!)
Catching wild birds and caging them is cruel and stupid. However, you can help injured wild birds if you know what you are doing and release them once they get well again. I've done this with sparrows and once a Turtle Dove. The Turtle Dove was covered in oil, but otherwise unhurt. She was a good patient, but I had to keep her until she grew new feathers. Then I released her. She still visits my balcony every day, and I leave food for her. Ah! It was a moving experience!

Answer 4

No, it's not cruel if the animal is born in captivity and is properly cared for. The whole ethic of animals as pets is often undermined by people who project their imagined emotions onto the animals. Some animals do not make good pets because their natural needs and instincts conflict with the human way of life. Those that do make good pets are those which, if they are well fed, cared for and intellectually stimulated, enjoy human companionship (or at least, are not too bothered one way or the other).

Parrots seem to be quite happy in a cage and will often return to it as their 'territory' of their own free will. I don't see it as imprisonment as it would be for a human (though humans constantly make their own cages and generally are reasonably content in them). However, to expect an animal, once mature, to adjust to a new way of life is, I believe, wrong if it is done purely from the motive of human amusement or pleasure. Protecting and regenerating species which are becoming extinct because of human damage to their environment is another matter.

Answer 5

Parrots live for a very long time. They can outlive some of us; living for eighty years or more. I think parrots and other birds should not be kept; in the way I have seen them kept. They should remain as free as possible. We know that chickens kept outdoors in favorable conditions give very nutritious eggs and meat. Parrots and parakeets have such beautiful personalities and plumage. In some tropical countries they bait them (from the rain forest) and keep them in cages for sale. The sold parrots are often-times taken to other temperate-climate countries to stay in-doors; if they are lucky to survive the journey. Human Beings are supposed to have dominion over other animals but we also have a responsibility to protect them too.

Answer 6

I have never felt completely comfortable with the idea of caging birds. I'm sure that owners care very much for their pets, but what is a bird if it cannot fly?

You hear lots of horror stories about parrots that get bored (they need constant entertainment and live for decades) and pull out their own feathers out of depression.

I think it is only ok to keep a parrot if you have lots of time to spend with it, and lots of space for it to play in. Same with most pets actually.

Answer 7

It's not wrong if you get a parrot that was bred domestically. It is illegal and completely wrong to take a parrot out of the jungle. As long as you provide the proper care then it is not wrong.

That is like asking if it is wrong to keep any animal because dogs, cats, and horses all used to be in the wild.

Answer 8

I don't agree with keeping any animals or birds caged up. I know that most pet owners love and care for these animals but even so, there is nothing that can compare to the freedom of their natural environment

Answer 9

Parrots that have been hand reared make good pets and are very loyal to their owners. Trapping parrots in the wild for pets is definitely cruel!!!

Answer 10

it was cruel (I say was because they can't do it anymore) to pluck birds out of the rainforests and their natural habitats and stick them in little cages, yes, but the ones bred in captivity know nothing else and wouldn't survive out there anyway so why not. if you have been to my house and seen the way my spoiled brats live you would not think it is cruel.

but I do think it is cruel to lock a bird up its whole life in a tiny cage and feed it nothing but seed.