jason from volo wrote: Fri Aug 06, 2021 11:13 am
biscuitdough wrote: Fri Aug 06, 2021 10:55 am
I’ll never be fully convinced that birds are suitable pets, pretty as they are. They’re at least in a gray area though.
I can understand that. I have several friends of mine that have voiced concerns about me keeping birds as pets and have said it's cruel to keep them in cages.
I too see it as a gray area, but I grew up around pet birds, make sure to only get birds from known and respected breeders, and also only have species that aren't poached from the wild (well, at least species have been bred in captivity for a long time). Obviously, I'm okay with how I have been doing it, but there are ways to keep birds as pets that I don't agree with.
All of the pet birds I've ever known have very unique personalities, mimic humans, and definitely get attached to one or more people in the household. They get a lot of time out of their cages to fly around and bond with us and each other.
Not trying to convince you; just offering an explanation of my experience with them.
I’ve actually enjoyed your bird stories a lot. You’re pretty apologetic about your love for birds, and I don’t think you need to be. It sounds like you really care for your pets and encourage others to do the same, and anyone who’s been close with any animal should be able to respect that.
As for whether a bird is a suitable pet, I guess that has more to do with the people involved. There are definitely people who have cats, dogs and other more common pet animals who shouldn’t.