Petland Sadists

[patdbunny]

Oh yeah - Something I found absolutely freakin' astounding and unbelievable - I have had multiple parrot rescue organizations contact me asking me to donate parrots to them because they have people wanting to adopt, but they don't have the bird(s) available to be adopted.

WUT?! I could not believe what I was hearing. If these parrot rescues are so overrun with homeless parrots, why would they contact me, a breeder, and ask me to give them parrots??

Oh - And another lady I was talking to, she had NEVER EVER owned a parrot or any bird. She was trying to decide whether she should by a baby cockatiel from me OR a rescue was telling her they had a 5 YO umbrella cockatoo that used to pluck, but he's all pretty now, and the rescue told her he would be PERFECT for her. WHAT?!

http://www.nathanwinograd.com/

[Margaret]

I don't know if I do any better, but I'll try...

CaptJack and Roz please read to the end, I don't mean to offend you in any way, opposite.

We people are judgmental. Before I came here, I thought that every breeder is a Monster, who only see the money. Not only bird breeder, like I said any pet breeder. I have had bad experience with dog breeder back in Poland.

When I came here and I read that Richard response, I started wondering that I may be mistaken in my opinion. Later I saw how Richard and Roz are voluntary giving really good advices about feeding, housing and about everything. What I really saw, that those guys have a heart for alive creatures, experience and they are willing to share it with us to help.
Richard and Roz and others, I read your responses for people questions, Jake videos and the way you talk about her melted my heart. Roz, I often go to your website, and your ideas are really helpful, no book will offer me that!

There are plenty of pet breeders, who really don't care about what's gonna happened after with their pet-babies. The same stores. The same parrot owners- people, who suppose provide the best possible care for their pets. But it doesn't mean that every of them is the same. So please don't take it so personal. I can speak for myself only, I love reading your stories and you guys actually have changed my opinion about breeders.
Who knows, maybe some of us will have a chance to buy a baby from one of you in the future and that will be cool -:)

[captwest]

Maybe we can give a pet parrot a better life.Thank you for your kind comments . Richard PS people like Roz and myself really do care.

[Roger P]

And we are forever grateful that you do care. Don't ever stop, the bird world needs more like you two.

[Vikki]

Oh yeah - Something I found absolutely freakin' astounding and unbelievable - I have had multiple parrot rescue organizations contact me asking me to donate parrots to them because they have people wanting to adopt, but they don't have the bird(s) available to be adopted.

That sounds like a scam to me. Rescues will NEVER go out asking for birds because in most cases we are overburdened with the ones we have. There are even a few times where we have been so overwhelmed that we have had to send some of them to other rescues who were not crowded just to make space. Most rescues are non-profit so it would make no sense for them to be seeking "stock". These people that are calling you are probably traffickers who are only looking to make money.

Also, I wanted to post my apologies to Roz and CaptWest if you feel I have slandered you in any way. I do not hate breeders, especially the ones who DO care for their flocks, treat them well and have strict ownership policies. Its the breeders who are mills that are the issue. The overcrowded, dirty, careless breeders who do it soley for money and have no care at all to what happens to their birds after they are purchased. It is those birds that more often than not end up in our rescues, or worse yet...shoved into a closet or poisoned to kill off the noise as so many have mentioned here. Its sad that a heartless few breeders have spoiled the business of breeding, but you have to understand that though you see the happy, cuddly baby bird faces on a daily basis, I see the beaten, plucked, sick, angry ones at my end and its hard not to draw some kind of conclusion.

[patdbunny]

That sounds like a scam to me.

I thought so too. So I looked them up. All three rescues that contacted me had valid 501(c)3 non-profit status.

Margaret & Roger - Thank you. Appreciate your thoughtfulness. Judgmental - That's what the AR agenda wants, people to bob their heads and ditto along without their own independent research and consideration.

I thought all "rescuers" and "vegans" were freaks pushing the AR agenda until I read nathan winograd's books. Talk about food for thought. And I do volunteer with a local cat rescue; and I have seen some of the things he writes about. It's very sad.

[Vikki]

Just because they have non-profit status doesn't necessarily mean they are legitimate. I would still be wary.

[patdbunny]

I understand that the non-profit status is just a cover to get free stuff and turn a buck.

So how is the average adopter to know if the organization's legit or just a business using the non-profit status as a scam? The average adopter's not going to investigate the place.

It seems all this push to "adopt" has caused "rescues" to sprout up left and right. People think they're doing a good deed and adopting a "homeless" animal, but they're really adopting from a source that's doing it to make a profit (the profit's not on paper, they have creative accounting).

[Vikki]

Unfortunately it is up to the adopter to know what they are getting. I agree in most cases the average person won't know what to look for and there's really no way to educate the planet.

I would suggest that before you agree to adopt, you visit the rescue. Really look around the place, see if they are clean, feed quality foods to their birds and handle them well. Aside from a towel, where needed, we never use gloves or any sort of grabbing device to get an aggressive bird out of their cages and no rescues should if they truly know what they are doing.

Ask to speak to other adopters who have gotten birds there and see what their experiences are.
If you see a bird you like, ask to see its paperwork. Whenever we get a new bird in, we quarantine it and immediately bring it to the vet to be tested and DNA'd so we know if it has any communicable diseases and what sex it is. If its sick, we treat it and most times board it at the vet so the other birds don't catch anything.

Every bird we take in has a file... who and where it came from, any history it has and all reports of tests. We also have a very strict adoption policy where the adopter has to make several visits to the rescue to handle the bird. Until we know the new owner can get it out of the cage without fear, handle it without fear and we see a bond between them, they don't get the bird. Prior to the adoption, once it is agreed, we visit the new owners home and have them fill out a lengthy application that includes information on current and past pets, and who they will leave the bird with should they pass away (which is important given the average age of some birds). If we see that the persons home is too small for a proper cage or that there is some reason we feel the new home is not adequate, we will deny the application. If they live in an apartment, we require a landlord approval first.

No bird rescue should be like a store where you simply walk in, say "I want that one" and they hand you the bird sight unseen. I am sure there are rescues out there like that, but IMHO, thats the worst thing and the bird will eventually be abandoned or abused in some way. (We have a policy that states if for any reason you no longer want or can care for the bird that we will take it back, no questions asked)

If I had the time and the finances, I would probably lobby for some type of rescue policy and say that rescues need licenses of some sort to prove their legitimacy, but laws differ from state to state and I can't see that that would stop the scam artists from turning a buck anyway.

Again, I don't want to come off as some sort of vehement AR lunatic. I'm not. I love all kinds of animals and up until 5 yrs ago, I never owned a parrot and never had the desire to. I've always gotten my animals, whether they be dogs, cats, or birds, from rescues because I hate the thought that anyone feels abandoned. I do not own the rescue where I work and I can guarantee we make no money doing what we do and a huge portion of the bills get paid out of the pockets of the couple that do run it... and it is not cheap. Vet bills alone run in the thousands per week. We do it because we love the birds and want them to be happy. That is all.

[Saerphe]

Well, my friend's mom said she'd let me take the budgies off of her hands, so I'm going to go in and pick them up to take them to the shelter tonight. With any luck, my parents will let me foster them and I'll be picking them up to take them home tomorrow or Friday.