Birds should not be caged as pets.

Thanks for your reply. The issue as I stated is that birds should not be pets, for the main reason that they should not be caged, etc. Most people who do decide to have birds as pets do not have an aviary, and the birds are subjected to living in a cage their whole life. If a bird is lucky enough, they will have an owner who considers letting the bird out of the cage. Some never even get that chance. REBUTTALS: 1) It is interesting how you claim that many small birds live in very nice cages, and have ample amounts of room to fly. Where did you get that information from and how do you define "very nice"? Minimum Cage Sizes Budgies 18 x 18 cage lovebirds 18 x 18 cage Cockatiel 22 x 17 cage [3] Small birds will get an 18 x 18 cage. Consider how a bird flies in their habitat. I do not define this as ample, I call it minimum. You say that smaller birds in particular do not have to go through wing clipping. This is far from the truth. The top 5 pet birds species are parakeets/budgies, cockatiels, finches/canaries, lovebirds, and African Greys. [1] All of these birds are small, and most people do choose to clip their wings, due to safety reasons if they do decide to let the bird out of their cage. For the reasons you stated, birds should have their wings clipped a pets because otherwise they can kill themselves by flying into objects in the home. Although this debate is not about whether or not we should clip birds wings, but that birds are not meant, and should not be meant as pets in a home. Cutting a birds wings cannot be compared to a hair cut. Haircuts for humans is for aesthetics. Wings are for a bird's flight. Flight is the main mode of locomotion used by most of the world's bird species. Flight assists birds while feeding, breeding and avoiding predators. [2] It is very unhealthy for a bird to lose their right to exercise. 2) Because these birds are not lethal predators, and humans can in other words dominate them, you are saying that they are therefore perfect to be caged as pets. This is only in the interest of the human, not the bird. A bird may be tamed, but the consequences the bird suffers in order to do so is unjust and wrong. I don't understand where you got your information that birds "are not even wild to begin with". There is no such animal as a "cage bird." All caged birds were either captured or bred in captivity. [5] For example, Parakeets in the wild live in many diverse habitats. [4] They are found throughout Australia, Asia, tropical and subtropic regions of Africa, Central and South America. [4] Let me define what a domestic animal is. Domestic animals are animals that have been bred for hundreds of years to live in the care of humans and are distinct from their wild ancestors. Birds commonly kept as pets are no different than their wild relatives -- they are the native species of other countries. [6] 3) It is hard to relate these birds to hampsters, dogs, and cats. Dogs and cats as pets are not confined to a crate or a cage their whole lives. We let them have some sort of free range around the house, there are outdoor cats, etc. Dogs are walked for their emotion health and if they were confined to a crate 24/7 we would call that animal cruelty. Why are birds different, when they are highly intelligent creatures themselves? Some birds are more intelligent than dogs! Hampsters have relative low intelligence. [7] On the other hand, birds are highly intelligent. For example, parrots are sociable and extremely intelligent -- they have been compared to human toddlers in the needs of their emotional and social lives but, unlike children, they never progress beyond the "toddler" level -- confinement in cages can lead to neurotic behavior, excessive screaming, feather plucking, self-mutilation, and other destructive habits. [6] 4) For all my reasons stated above I challenge your comment that for emotional health you can get two birds instead of one. Two birds under these conditions are no better than one. It just adds to the problem. Because birds are so affordable, many end up suffering once the novelty wears off. When the birds who seemed so cute and lovable in pet stores turn out to be noisy, messy, and demanding of people's attention, many are later abandoned, and few live out their natural life spans. [5] About 85 percent of parrots are resold, given away, or abandoned within two years of being purchased. [5] If they are ignored, they suffer in isolation and may become even noisier, more aggressive, or more despondent. [5] 5) To say neglecting birds have less ramifications is exactly my point. Many people view birds as insignificant whether because of their size, or their lack of ability to be able to fight back. This way of thinking is the perfect reason why it is wrong to cage a bird as a pet. Bird are not meant to be by their waste, and they need better diets than just seed, and alot of owners do not even consider these things. A lot of times, people just give them seed because it is convenient, when in actuality they need a well balanced diet of fruits, vegetables also. Dogs and cats have been domesticated. As I reasoned above, birds have not. http://birds.about.com...... [1] http://en.wikipedia.org...... [2] http://www.yourparrotcage.com...... [3] http://animal-world.com...... [4] http://www.peta.org...... [5] http://www.staravian.org...... [6] http://www.hamsoc.org.uk...... [7]