Vegetarians: Would you say its cruel to adopt a bird?!
Answers: Well I was wondering. I wish to adopt and everyone seems excited about it but then someone came along and made me feel right guilty. He said that its like talking away their freedom by putting them in a cage. Would you agree to this? I would appreciate your views before I go out and adopt one.
You are "adopting" a bird from a rescue right?
Just be clear that you can't "adopt" an animal from a pet store.
If you are BUYING a bird from a pet store, you are paying to have a bird in a cage when it should never even have to see one.
If you are giving a bird a much better life by providing a stable and comfortable home with a companion after surviving a miserable past or loss of its previous family, that is great and no one should have the nerve to open their mouth.
Well as long as you're not eating it I suppose it would be fine!!! :o)
Whether one is vegatarian/vegan or not isn't really related to your question, though I suppose vegatarian/vegans may have a stronger opinion about it.
Yes, it is cruel to keep birds in cages.
Cats and dogs are generally domesticated, and often kept in the house with free run, or in the yard with free run (dogs should not be kept on a chain and that is now illegal in many places). That is far different than a bird, who never really get domesticated and are used to having completely free run of sky & land, being kept in a cage. Even the biggest cages are still tiny.
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In a small sense, my friend "xgurl3eb" who answered below, is correct. Adopting a bird already at a store and giving it a caring home is a better life for THAT bird. However, the more birds get purchased, the more stores will purchase birds.
The best way to stop or decrease that cycle is to NOT buy them to begin with.
i thought vegetarians love animals, go get one!
Better home with you, a vegan, than a meat eating homeless man. :)
The bird will be in a cage regardless of whether or not you adopt it. At least you would give it a good home.
if they are already in a cage at a store or shelter, you're going to be doing them a favor by adopting them. They are domesticated birds that cant' survive in the wild, they don't have the skills (assuming you aren't adopting, like a pidgeon or somethign, lol). I think it's a kindness to adopt animals that are just sitting in cages somewhere, at least they will be properly cared for and loved if you take them home.
If it's a domesticate animal already, you can't release it into the wild (it won't have the coping mechanisms).....give it a good life and rest assured you're not exploiting it.
That's crap. Some birds, especially those which were born and raised in captivity, would quickly die should they be set free. So it would be crueler to release it than to keep it properly caged and care for it. That person is ignorant.
Not cruel at all. I have a cockatiel who is the happiest bird! Think of it as rescuing the bird from the pet store where they are sometimes neglected and crammed in a cage with other birds.
My bird is in a nice warm and sunny room. She has a cage but the door is left open so she can go in a out of it. I cover the floor with newspapers.
Shes got a ton of toys and fresh fruit and veggies and birds food...She is very happy and very loved!
It depends how you are going to treat it. If you are going to keep it in the cage the whole time never taking it out, then yes, it is cruel. Birds need to get out every once and a while. Just let it out of the cage for about 10 minutes [you could get its wings clipped so it can't fly aroun] AT LEAST 3 times a week. make sure the fan is off, to. As long as you let it out, and give it attention, you're fine.
Why don't you set up a bird table in your garden. That way they have freedom and you can enjoy them too. You would be helping wild birds not unscrupulous breeders.
Birds that are sold as pets are bred for such and would not have the survival skills to be free. Additionally, many people use their birds cage as a base, letting the bird fly around the house or apartment as much as possible. It isn't any crueler than restricting a cat to a house or a fish to a tank.
I suppose it would depend on the situation....like any animal if by taking it in your are improving its life (say due to injury) then I would think that lack of freedom would be fine. Look after it well though.
I guess it would depend on the bird you are adopting! If it is one that has lived all its life in a cage; then no, it is not cruel.
If it is a wild bird that has no chance of surviving in the wilderness again because of injury, then no, you are sparing it a death by predator because it can't escape as it normally would do if it were well.
We have owned Finches and loved them. They were happy because they were well fed, cared for, had lots of play things, and we interacted with them several times a day. They were treasured pets and friends.
If you will take care of it and love it, then no ... it is not wrong.
depends on what bird it is...some birds cant survive here in the wild. no...if it is already caged...then it isn't cruel...& you could always get it a mate!!
you dont have to just ask vegetarians everybody has a different point of view on this topic. I believe when you get them very young and have there wings clipped they dont know the freedom of out doors. if you keep them happy and play with them fed and watered and let them out while your in the room then they are just happy =] i got a yellow nape amazon and i <3 it to death lol.
Personally, I would not want to adopt birds as pets. If it was sick or injured, then I would or help those who could nurse it back to health then release it near or as close as possible to its natural habitat.
But, some owners clip the flight feathers or part of the wing of their birds so they won't be able to fly anymore. I think those cases are the only exceptions or mitigating circumstances where birds can be adopted.
Good luck.
My outlook on the situation is that the bird is going to spend the rest of its life in a cage whether you adopt it or not. I've seen birds in pet stores and they are all jammed in there together.
So, I feel like if you can give that one bird special attention and know that you're going to give it the best life possible- then I don't think it's a cruel thing to do at all. I think you'd actually be helping an animal- not hurting it.
I think you should adpot one and be a responsible owner- and enjoy all the days you want to with your cute new little birdie!
GOOD LUCK AND HAVE FUN!!!!!!!!
Have you gone through the proper checks?
Not everyone is suitable to adopt.
I mean will you be able to teach it how to be all that it can be?
No its not--i have a Ring-neck Dove at home in a long horizontal cage. and ive trained her so i let her out and she flies around the house but goes in her cage to do her business lol. the thing is if i let her go she wont survive for too long. she doesn't know how to realy look for food or flee from danger. the problem happened when they were first captured or domesticated, it is cruel to let them go into a world they dont know. you are doing a good thing by adopting, shes gone have a better life with you than at the shelter. so adopt
well, it depends, are you rescuing the bird, or buying it and causing more demand?
If it is rescue, yes adopt and treat it with love and kindness.
You should also let the bird out for sometime everyday.....then its good..........if you put it in cage for a whole day, then you are taking its freedom.
My last pair was a pair of lovebirds. I was a kid and I was selfish. After my last pair, I promised myself never to imprison a bird again. I would not like to have my arms cut and placed in a cage for the rest of my life.
Humans have the ability, whichever way that is was acquired, to subjugate any beast that they wish. The only reason is selfishness. They're cute, pretty, funny. And for these attributes we punish birds.
Some may say "if it was bred to be a caged bird, then it's ok." Well sure, if a slave was bred to be a slave, then it's oke to buy and keep a slave, after all, how would it survive without it's master?
Your choice is your choice, and if you choose to keep a caged bird, it doesn't necessarily make you an evil person.
Maybe in the future, as I did, you'll see things differently.
There was a line from Schindler's List that went something like, "Power isn't having the ability to kill, it's having the ability to kill but choosing to pardon."
I hope that makes sense.
If it is a pet-store bird, they are domestically bred and it is not viewed as so cruel to keep them in cages, as long as the cage is not very small.
If you are thinking about adopting a bird through wildlife agencies, such as 'Nature's Focus' -which takes birds from the wild and tames them- it might be considered cruel. The birds and animals from the agencies were once living in the wild, such as forests (and streams for fish) and were 'tamed' (kept in very small cages) until they were domesticated.
Now whether you're a vegetarian/vegan or not, this doesn't relate to the subject, BUT some vegans could possibly see it as extremely cruel. Like someone else said, as long as you're not eating the bird, it should be fine. But it's really up to you in the end.
please get a big enough cage, thats all i feel towards it.
It's not cruel. Cause you're not going to eat it. But i'm sure it's kept in a cage where the birds from anyway
oh please dont buy a bird. the one you buy will be replaced in the shop by another one. if you dont buy , it will save the next one from misery as whiskey further up said. its wrong to keep any animal ,bird or rodent in a cage.
You might want to ask the animal activists
Its all opionated, but sometimes it also depends on the bird. Lots of birds are okay living with human beings and are even let out of cages to roam around like dogs and cats. Intelligent parrots are examples of this. Some small birds though, reaaaallly dont like to be in cages and not able to fly. These birds need to have flight to excersize and such. They also dont like humans and dont like to be touched at all. So if you want a bird, try something like a parrot. They love people ya know!
btw an option for you if you dont want a bird in a cage would be to buy a bird feeder and watch the birds as they come to it to eat. I have one and I get LOADS of birds coming in all the time. Even a male and female cardinal, but they have gone already.
I think it's cruel to buy a bird and keep it in a cage. You're supporting cruelty in my oponion
I'm assuming because you use the word "adopt" that you are getting this bird from a rescue of some sort and not purchasing it from a store or breeder that is making a profit by selling the birds?
If you are not creating demand and putting money in the pockets of people who exploit animals to their own greedy ends, I think it would be lovely to give a home to a bird that has found itself without a permanent home for whatever reason (i.e. guardian died, or more likely stupid people bought the bird and discovered it wasn't a mere ornament and required actual care and decided to "get rid of it").