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Please be aware that all the information in this section is entirely my own opinion. It is based on research, evidence and personal experience. It is not intended to offend but to pass on what I deem as good practise. Please do not respond negatively in any form to any of my opinions.

The Animal Welfare Act should underpin everything we do when dealing with all species.

The Animal Welfare Act 2006 - the five needs/freedoms:

*The need for a suitable environment
*The need for a suitable diet
*The need to exhibit normal behaviour patterns
*The need to be housed with or, apart from other animals
*The need to be protected from pain, suffering, injury and disease

Cruelty is often born out of ignorance.

The laws in some European countries are more advanced than ours. We are supposed to be an ‘animal loving country’. If other countries recognise the sentience of parrots, why don’t we?

Parrots and the Law

Dutch Law Bans Hand-Rearing of Young Parrots. In July, 2014 the Netherlands became the first country to outlaw the hand-rearing of parrots. The law covers all Psittacines, including parakeets, cockatoos and lovebirds, and imposes fines and/or jail time upon violators.

Swiss law on parrots: Switzerland recognises that parrots are wild animals, even if they are kept in captivity. They must be kept in groups of at least two animals, this includes macaws, cockatoos, parakeets, parrots and lovebirds.
Parrots are flock birds. That means in order for them to mentally, emotionally and physically do well, they need to live in flocks. Some need single species flocks, such as the African Grey; some will happily live in mixed species flocks, such as the Conure, the Macaws and the Amazons. Some have been human reared and consider their flock to be humans. Although I personally have a HUGE issue with taking a young hatchling from its parent - who is so sentient that they mourn the loss of their young, those birds need to be with the people who they associate with. That means if you have a ‘humanised’ parrot, then don’t cage it away from people for endless hours. In fact don’t cage it in daylight hours at all. Stay with your bird. If you need to go out to work for hours at a time, then don’t keep your bird on its own. Those ear piercing screams are not naughty behaviour, they are the cries of a sentient being, desperately trying to be in contact with its flock. Where the flock goes, the parrot goes. Simple. So your parrot is silent? That too tells a story of a being that has shut down- the stage AFTER the screams.
Parrots are infinitely complex. Humans can’t comprehend the full extent of this. We arrogantly place ourselves at the top of the emotionally intelligent pyramid. The irony of this is that we are so numb to the needs of our fellow creatures that we assume superiority over them. If we placed a human child in solitary confinement for endless hours at a time, we rightly would be in a great deal of trouble. Yet this is perfectly acceptable and indeed normal for how we treat our companion animals. This causes immense suffering. The scale of this across the world is incomprehensible. When will we, as a species, wake up to what we are doing? When will we look to the needs of others rather than to our own? When will we ever learn?

In the wild, if a parrot is alone (a very few species are exceptions to this rule), then its instincts tell it that it is vulnerable, it is unsafe, it is running a high risk of predation. Have you ever felt this yourself? If you have, then you know how that lone parrot sitting in a cage feels. That aside, flock life allows a parrot - who don’t forget, has the intelligence of a nursery or reception aged child, to play, to have contact, to learn, to socialise - to be a parrot. People complain that if they get a second bird, then ‘their’ bird won’t bond with them and interact with them. HOW DARE THEY! ‘Their’ bird is not a toy, an ornament, a baby. ‘Their’ bird has an equal right to emotional, mental and physical well-being as the human does. Don’t live in ignorance and make the assumption you are more important. You really are not. You are equal. Allow your parrot to be who it was always meant to be - a parrot.
Photo Credits:
Bird24timeb

Morndyke Farm, Cottage and Shepherds' Huts

Morndyke Parrot Sanctuary is part of Morndyke Farm near Thirsk, North Yorkshire. Morndyke offers Luxury Shepherd Hut accommodation, a self-catering holiday cottage and a beautiful coarse fishing lake.

© Morndyke Parrot Sanctuary | Reg Charity Number 1202748