Store takes in displaced parrots

[Pajarita]

WOW, what a NICE person! And, poor, poor birds!

This is in Canada, where those fires have been raging (http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/04/world/for ... index.html) and the entire city had to be evacuated. It reminds me of Katrina and Sandy here in the US and how we became aware that we need a system in place that takes into consideration people's pets. What do you think should be done about it and how would you suggest parrots, specifically, could be made more comfortable?

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/ ... -1.3581323

[Wolf]

Under the circumstances and with limited space comfortable may be out of reach, but they are at least safe from the fire until the owners can arrange for better accomodations for them. This is a wonderful thing that the owner of this store is doing.

[seagoatdeb]

I was born in Edmonton and some of my old friends took in some of the people that had to be evacutated. There were dogs and cats that had to be placed too, and accomadation was hard to come by. That is a nice store and nice people that work there too.

[liz]

These are wonderful people. It is not the greatest solution but they are fed and warm and the people who are keeping them must be giving them love and attention even though their humans cannot.

[Pajarita]

I wholeheartedly agree that this store is wonderful for doing what they are doing but I think that governments should have in place an established plan and resources. I know that, in USA and since Katrina, they are now if not actually putting it into a feasible plan at least thinking about it -even going as far as now rescuing not only the people but also their pets- but I do wish they would hurry up and get something in place for the entire country. The fact is that climate change is wrecking havoc not only because of the severe weather but also because of things that happen because of it -like fires and mudslides- and, although governments have evacuation procedures for people, it doesn't cover pets. Now, dogs and cats have lots and lots of advocates as well as lots of rescues. They might not be all as good as we would want them to be but they are there. But, when it comes to parrots... well, that's another story, isn't it? For one thing, the 'usual' rescue organizations like the Humane Society and the SPCA don't really 'do' birds and, even when they are willing to do it, they simply do not have people who knows enough about them to guarantee a minimum degree of husbandry. For another, every single rescue is full to the rafters with homeless birds so available 'space' is practically non-existent. This store realized that and picked up the slack in this occasion and in this area but what about all the other situations? It is estimated that there are around 60,000,000 pet birds in USA but there still isn't a single plan in place for them!

Personally, I think that the government should start giving grants to local bird rescues so they can 'reserve' some space for situations like this one. State governments give grants to dog and cat rescues or 'service' providers (I know because I volunteered at one that does inexpensive vaccination and neuter) so why not do it also for bird rescues? I also think that breeders and stores that sell birds as well as anybody that benefits from their commercialization (bird fairs, bird shows, etc) should pay a small tax so as to have ready funds in case of an emergency (they make money off them so the least they can do is contribute, right?) This way, if something happens, there will be not only a place where they can go but people who are more knowledgeable about them to not only rescue and take care of them but also to ensure that the conditions are as good as can be made for them (like having areas for different size species, etc)

[seagoatdeb]

I wholeheartedly agree that this store is wonderful for doing what they are doing but I think that governments should have in place an established plan and resources. I know that, in USA and since Katrina, they are now if not actually putting it into a feasible plan at least thinking about it -even going as far as now rescuing not only the people but also their pets- but I do wish they would hurry up and get something in place for the entire country. The fact is that climate change is wrecking havoc not only because of the severe weather but also because of things that happen because of it -like fires and mudslides- and, although governments have evacuation procedures for people, it doesn't cover pets. Now, dogs and cats have lots and lots of advocates as well as lots of rescues. They might not be all as good as we would want them to be but they are there. But, when it comes to parrots... well, that's another story, isn't it? For one thing, the 'usual' rescue organizations like the Humane Society and the SPCA don't really 'do' birds and, even when they are willing to do it, they simply do not have people who knows enough about them to guarantee a minimum degree of husbandry. For another, every single rescue is full to the rafters with homeless birds so available 'space' is practically non-existent. This store realized that and picked up the slack in this occasion and in this area but what about all the other situations? It is estimated that there are around 60,000,000 pet birds in USA but there still isn't a single plan in place for them!

Personally, I think that the government should start giving grants to local bird rescues so they can 'reserve' some space for situations like this one. State governments give grants to dog and cat rescues or 'service' providers (I know because I volunteered at one that does inexpensive vaccination and neuter) so why not do it also for bird rescues? I also think that breeders and stores that sell birds as well as anybody that benefits from their commercialization (bird fairs, bird shows, etc) should pay a small tax so as to have ready funds in case of an emergency (they make money off them so the least they can do is contribute, right?) This way, if something happens, there will be not only a place where they can go but people who are more knowledgeable about them to not only rescue and take care of them but also to ensure that the conditions are as good as can be made for them (like having areas for different size species, etc)

I wish that everything you have said will be done, but i think that the changes in our weather pattern, will end up costing so much money that parrots will always be low on the list. I think it is up to us to help with anything that happens in our area with the best of our abilites.

[Wolf]

That is where it always begins, in the private sector. It is only when the private sector is able to finally reach through to the political sector that things like this begin to even be considered, It gives birth to one more special interest group that has to raise enough money to lobby the congress ( and grease their palms with large amounts of cash) before it stands even the smallest of a chance in government, or so it seems. That is in both state and federal levels.

[Pajarita]

Yes, well, unfortunately for the birds, there are no specific lobbying organizations for them... and PIJAC doesn't help things, either, because, as far as they are concerned, if all the birds die, they make money replacing them. But I think that public opinion and pressure is the first step because it will inevitably end up in the mainstream media. And I do believe that, like Bob Dylan said, the times are a-changing... People used to ignore animals whenever there was a tragedy like this one but most people now regard their companion animals as part of their family and some would rather stay with them than abandon them to their fate. And this is not exaggeration either. It was a fact brought to the fore of political perspective during Katrina when they found drowned people inside their homes because they had refused to leave their animals behind (I adopted a dog that was found on a floating bed in an upstairs bedroom of a semi-submerged house with the owner drowned nearby -there were two dogs, actually, mine was a very old chocolate toy poodle and the younger, white female was adopted by another volunteer at the rescue).

More on the Ft McMurray rescued pets:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/nat ... e30028862/

[seagoatdeb]

Yes Pajarita, it all comes down to education and a change in our consiousness toward animals. I do what I can for the wild birds here when we have a heat wave here and food is scarce, i make sure to scattter seed under my lilac trees where the birds are protected from hawks. If Governments would provide funding there are many of us that would be able to help.

[Pajarita]

I also always feed the wild birds. I save all the old gloop, bread, rice, seed from my birds and add some more that I buy specifically for them and, before I go upstairs to do the parrot room, I feed them. There is a crew remodeling a big house across the street and, because they are practically doing it again (I mean roof, siding, windows, doors, all interior sheetrock, landscaping, etc) they have been working there for two or three weeks already and they have been stopping just to watch me feed the birds. You see, by the time I go out, there are already about 50 or 60 birds perched on the roof of my porch, the roof of the house next door, the tree and the bushes (it looks like a freaking 'The Birds' scene!) and, as soon as I come out and start calling: "Poorroo poorroo poorrroo" (my attempt at talking pigeon ) they all swoop down to the ground in front of me as if they were trained to do so (which, in a way, they were because I've been doing it every morning for years). They are soooo smart! My grand-kids love to watch this, too -my grand-daughter calls it 'Nana's all-you-can-eat bird buffet'