Living with Birds : Section 3

BIRD NO-NO'S: LEG CHAINS, WING PINIONING, DEVOCALISATION AND MORE

Many mistakes in management of caged and aviary birds are made through ignorance, through not having thought, through not having been taught, or through not having questioned.

Birds are not simply animals in terms of objects which move, live, look pretty, eat, drink, fly (if they are lucky) and die!
Birds have many needs which parallel our own.
Birds have feelings.
Birds are individuals in a similar way to us, they have individual personalities, likes and dislikes.
Birds can think. Birds can solve some problems.
Birds can discriminate, recognise differences.
Birds can learn. Some birds can learn basic English and ask questions with meaning and purpose.
We need to carefully re-appraise our attitudes towards birds!

Remember birds do have feelings. They can experience pain, frustration and they deserve to be protected from cruelty.

- Leg Chains

When I see a bird with a leg chain it tells me a lot about the owner or the petshop proprietor trying to sell the bird. I wonder if you get the same messages as I do? Leg chains and their attachments can get tangled around the bird, around other objects and hence become much shorter than intended. They can lead to the bird hanging by the leg, suffering agonising injuries and breaking its leg. The leg attachment can abrade or cut into the leg. I advocate that the use of leg chains on birds be deemed an act of cruelty.

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