The article is here
https://www.peta.org.au/issues/exploit/ ... n-animals/
Quoted from the article.
"Many captive birds are fed the same boring diet of seeds." and "Organic fruit and wholemeal bread should be part of a varied diet for birds."
end quote.
Birds in the wild have less choice of seeds than captive birds do, and I'm not sure where wild birds would buy wholemeal bread from. Perhaps Coles, Woolies or IGA might set up a fly thru service in the Kimberley. The birds could pick up a loaf on the way home and say "Put it on my bill".
Quoted from the article.
"Birds are often denied veterinary assistance because of the expense and lack of vets specialising in bird care. Because they’re small animals, it’s often assumed that if they become ill, it’s preferable to let them die rather than spending time, energy, and money on treating them."
end quote.
I tracked down all the bird vets in my area and went to them as soon as any of my birds got sick. And most of the problems I had with birds was due to domestic cats roaming at night and killing my pets. I don't see PETA writing articles saying "Keep cats on your own property".
I also see lots of dogs and cats that are denied vet care because their owners think it costs too much, so to say bird owners don't care, well. Aquarium fish are generally treated worse than any pet. I presume PETA has written an article calling all fish breeders mean. There are good people and bad people that have birds, fish and animals and some care and some don't. Most do care.
Quoted from the article.
In addition to pet shops, birds are also available through magazines, online via Gumtree or Facebook, or direct from breeders’ websites.
end quote.
All birds that are sold are either bred in captivity or wild caught. Backyard breeders supply 99% of birds to shops and the average consumer. If people didn't breed birds, many species would be extinct now, including the Gouldian finch.
Quoted from the article.
"Constant breeding and captivity result in significant psychological and physiological trauma to birds. The females – who are not designed to breed constantly – often have their babies stolen from them to be sold or traded. Both parents experience grief when this happens, and their offspring are denied the opportunity to learn vital skills from them. This trauma can cause psychological problems which can then manifest as physical behaviour such as feather plucking, fear of humans, and biting."
end quote.
Birds breed when they are ready to breed and most large parrots only breed once a year. If you take the eggs they will lay another batch and that is usually it for the season. Wild birds will breed whenever conditions are good and if the opportunity arose, they would breed all year round if they could. I couldn't stop most of my birds from breeding unless I separated the males and females and that isn't something I would do because it breaks up the pairs of birds and causes them stress.
Wild birds also lose eggs and babies to snakes, lizards, other birds, animals like rats and mice, ants, fires, lack of food, no rain, habitat destruction, etc. Yes it stresses the parents when their young die, but they usually try to breed again to replace those that don't make it. The females normally stress more than the males.
As for feather plucking, this is caused by stress (separation anxiety & boredom) and has nothing to do with baby birds being taken from the nest. Fear of humans is caused by birds being abused. Biting can be caused by a number of issues but the article shows a couple of pink & grey galahs at this point in the article. Pink & greys are renown for being a little loopy as they get older and can snap and bite anyone at any time. Most pet birds don't bite unless you hurt them. Wild bird on the other hand, grab a female budgie and see what she does to your fingers.
Quoted from the article.
… Most people, including breeders, don’t know how to care for and accommodate them. Many people even take birds or eggs from the wild and expect them to survive somehow in an unnatural environment.
end quote.
If birds are not provided with the correct food and nesting sights, they don't breed. So to say most people don't know how to care for and accommodate them is incorrect.
Yes some people do take eggs and baby birds from the wild, but only a few criminals do that. Most people breed the birds in their houses or backyards, typically backyards in Australia.
Quoted from the article.
"What You Can Do
Write to your local Member of Parliament and ask for the following:
A ban on the sale of companion birds online, from “backyard breeders”, and at markets, expos, and pet shops.
The introduction of companion bird welfare laws, as the current codes of practice are often totally ignored and, in any case, not mandatory.
A ban on all bird breeding.
The promotion of bird adoption, in order to save thousands of neglected and rejected homeless birds.
Sign relevant bird-welfare petitions.
Speak out against bird abuse and complain to anyone selling birds."
end quote.
Where are people meant to buy birds from if the government bans the sale of birds from these places?
Bird sales will go underground and there will be a black market in them.
Putting a ban on all bird breeding would see most species become extinct to due humans destroying the natural habitats. It sounds like PETA would rather see species become extinct rather than have them kept in cages, and they would prefer an underground black market that deals in birds taken from the wild.
I do agree with them about bird adoption, bird welfare acts and there should be tougher laws for animal cruelty (including neglected birds).
Last quote from the article.
"Keeping birds in cages has been banned in many countries, including India. It’s time that Australia made the same ethical decision and let birds fly free."
end quote.
I have seen a few pet shops with bird cages in India and other countries, and if there are laws in those countries stating birds can't be kept in cages, those laws are being blatantly disregarded.
I am all for laws to protect birds from harm and to give them a safe happy environment to live in, and I'm sure all the people on this forum are too. And I don't like seeing birds in small cages. But putting a blanket ban on bird breeding would not help the situation at all. The government needs to set out guidelines for minimum size cages for different species of bird and pet shops need to drop small cages and try to get their customers to buy the biggest cage/ aviary that they can afford and have space for. Back in the 80s and early 90s when I worked in the pet industry, we encouraged people to buy the biggest cages possible and we didn't carry small cages. We had a list of birds vets on hand and gave out care pamphlets to all new bird keepers, and that included the list of bird vets in and around Perth. We told people what to feed them and we made sure they were told to give the birds clean water as well as fresh fruits and veges every day (and grass seeds when available), as well as cuttlebone, mineral grit and vitamin supplements. Plenty of other bird and pet shops did a similar thing.
Most people that keep birds try to do it ethically and don't want to see their pets suffer. To put all birds keepers/ breeders in the same basket and say we don't care for our companions/ pets, is misleading and unfair to the majority that do the right thing.
and “A ban on the sale of companion birds online, from “backyard breeders””(yes they had to put backyard breeders in quotation marks )because they think all birds are bred in tiny cages, made to breed non-stop in a dirty environment. Maybe PETA should come see the giant aviaries we, as bird breeders, build for our birds. Literally all they talk about is breeding birds being unable to fly, squashed into a tiny environment and being all sad and stuff, come see the giant aviaries most of us have. This article is all people see about bird breeding and it is an absolute disgrace.
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, preferable with a blow torch and a set of bolt cutters 
