Any Bird People Around

I thought you may find this interesting. I was wondering different peoples' opinions on this. Do you guys feel this is a good agreement?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7480632/

Petco agrees to stop large-bird sales
Deal ends PETA boycott of pet supply chain

The Associated Press
Updated: 7:45 p.m. ET April 12, 2005


SAN DIEGO - Petco Animal Supplies Inc. said Tuesday it will stop selling large birds in a deal with an animal rights group, which agreed to end its boycott of the pet supply chain.

Amazon and African grey parrots, cockatoos and macaws will no longer be sold at Petco stores once the company runs through its existing stock. Petco will continue selling smaller and medium-sized birds, such as canaries, finches, parakeets, cockatiels and conures.

“We recognize that most of our bird customers are what we would call ’beginning hobbyists.’ Large birds are not necessarily appropriate for these individuals due to their long lifespan, size and care requirements,” Bruce Hall, Petco’s president and chief operating officer, said in a statement.

San Diego-based Petco, the country’s No. 2 pet supply chain with 730 stores, also agreed to encourage adoption of homeless birds from shelters and to separate mice and rats by gender to prevent them from breeding.

In return, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals agreed to end demonstrations outside Petco stores and take down its anti-Petco Web site. The Norfolk, Va.-based organization began attacking the company in January 2003 for what PETA called Petco’s pattern of mishandling pets for sale.

“We’d be happier if all birds weren’t sold, but this is a precedent-setting action,” said Daphna Nachminovitch, a PETA spokeswoman. “It is a victory for the birds for certain.”

Large parrots can easily outlive their adult owners, said Nachminovitch, who considers parrots to be wild animals and unsuitable pets. Wild and escaped parrots are known to flock noisily in San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco and other cities.

Last year, Petco paid more than $900,000 to settle two lawsuits that accused the company of mistreating animals and overcharging customers. A complaint by PETA to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that calls on Petco to disclose revenue and inventory figures of pet sales remains pending.


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Rusty

While I can't stand PeTA, I think that most people who buy larger birds at Petco probably have NO idea what they're in for. Buying large parrots from responsible breeders is the best way to go.

I'd definitely support this (although Peta officially sucks). Having a bigger bird is like having a 2 year old that never grows out of it. It's a huge commitment & like adding a new person to the family. Smaller birds - while still quite a commitment - are often much better choices for beginner keepers.

Just for comparison, we do bigger birds by special request only @ our store, and breed our own lovebirds, parakeets, cockatiels, etc. so that there are always socialized hand-fed birds around.

K~

yea people also sometimes buy them not knowing how long they will live because our blue and gold macaw died about 2 years ago and she was 48 years old and boy did she love chewing which is another thing some people dont know bout them, that they need to chew

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Originally Posted by Rusty_Reptiles

In return, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals agreed to end demonstrations outside Petco stores and take down its anti-Petco Web site. The Norfolk, Va.-based organization began attacking the company in January 2003 for what PETA called Petco’s pattern of mishandling pets for sale.

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I understand the point about what's best for the birds and personally don't agree with PetCo selling animals that require higher experience levels to keep, but now that Petco has given in to PETA on this issue, what if PETA decides to start setting up websites and boycotting them for selling fish, reptiles, and feeder rodents? If you don't see that one coming, stand by. PETA's ultimate goal is to deny people the right to own pets, close all zoos, and return ALL animals (from roaches to horses) back to the wild.

Maybe that's not a bad thing because so many people can't stand PetCo's because of the bad advice many give and the sometimes horrible conditions. Who cares right? Well, after PETA manages to drive PetCo out of business who do think they are going to pick on next??? They'll go after the mom and pop pet stores, and then eventually the breeders. They won't stop until you can't buy pets anymore.

I would have much rather seen PetCo tell PETA to go screw themselves and slowly phase out the selling of large birds over time as discreetly as possible if that's what they believe is right. Now that PETA has an inch ... well, you know the rest.

One point for PETA I guess.

(rant over, sorry about that)

-adam

Yup, that's what I don't like, Adam.

and what the bleep is the deal about preserving the chastity of the rodents?

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and to separate mice and rats by gender to prevent them from breeding

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Originally Posted by Smulkin

and what the bleep is the deal about preserving the chastity of the rodents?

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It's part of PETA's ultimate goal to stop ALL captive breeding of ALL animals. Once no more animals are bred in captivity, even if they can't free every pet in America, sooner or later they will die off and PETAs goal will be reached.

(ok, now the rant is over ... really this time :p)

-adam

I guess they're worried about the thousands of unwanted homeless rats and mice in the shelters. :P they are so retarded..

Its all about precedence...I mean, if thats all PETA wanted, then they would have closed up shop and gone home after this settlement was made. Yeah right. Like Adam said, this is a radical organization which will not stop until their radical goals are realized.

First they go after large corporations with deep pockets and lots to lose.

I do, however, believe that the buck will stop at some point in time. Legal precedence can go a long way, but it generally will not take a cause to its ultimate destination by itself. Something else has to come into the frame.

I believe that PETA will eventually hit its wall when they start to infringe upon individual rights and liberties, which includes the right to keep captive-bred companion animals. Thats a pastime that will never be taken away by the judiciary, as they are well aware of PETA's goals and beliefs.

So here's a question for you breeders and those involved in the reptile trade on a commercial basis: If we did get to that point, would it really be all that bad? No imported wildlife, less poaching for animal removal in native habitats, and only captive bred animals available for trade. As reptile enthusiasts, I think we all have an interest in protecting wild populations of animals, which is a common interest we share with PETA. I'm curious to know what you all would think of that.

If no more animals were imported, then the level of new morphs would go way down. The majority originate in the wild, not in captivity. Of course it's important to make sure the animals don't become endangered in the wild, but there are other things in place to safeguard that.. like CITES.

Two points ...

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Originally Posted by elevatethis

I believe that PETA will eventually hit its wall when they start to infringe upon individual rights and liberties, which includes the right to keep captive-bred companion animals. Thats a pastime that will never be taken away by the judiciary, as they are well aware of PETA's goals and beliefs.

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If through harassment, protests, and digital extortion PETA makes it miserable for the companies that supply products to pet owners to do business, it will become more and more difficult to own a pet conveniently. Once the numbers of pet owners start to dwindle over time, the legislature will be more inclined to discriminate against a great minority and remove individual liberties.

The powers that be at PETA may be insane, but they are not idiots. They know that they will never be able to compel the government into an outright ban of pets. Therefore they have adopted gorilla tactics to flank the problem by attacking the companies that enable the ownership of pets. Cut off the head and the giant will fall. And make no mistake, PETA sees this fight as a marathon, not a race ... if it takes them 500 years they will fight and gnaw and chip away at anything they can to achieve their goals.

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Originally Posted by elevatethis

So here's a question for you breeders and those involved in the reptile trade on a commercial basis: If we did get to that point, would it really be all that bad? No imported wildlife, less poaching for animal removal in native habitats, and only captive bred animals available for trade. As reptile enthusiasts, I think we all have an interest in protecting wild populations of animals, which is a common interest we share with PETA. I'm curious to know what you all would think of that.

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There are already many organizations that regulate the harvesting and importation of animals in the wild. Worldwide this harvesting supports tribes, towns, and countries ... money from the WC animal trade puts food on the table of families and medicine in the cabinets of hospitals where there would be none otherwise. Numbers of wild populations are carefully monitored to prevent over harvesting and there are good controls in place. Laws enacted to stop this can not be enforced and will most likely not be followed. The trade will move underground and unregulated populations will likely be harvested to the brink of extinction by people just trying to feed their children. There are laws against poaching today for many species and it still happens .... how do you think that any nation will be able to enforce protecting the truly endangered species when suddenly their already stretched resources will be needed to protect ALL species? They probably won't, and that will be an ecological travesty.

-adam

petco sucks they should be spending there time educating the public because the sale of parrots will never end but education can begin.
shannon
owner of 22 unwanted and handicapped birds

Large birds are a ton of work. They are mentally amazing; almost what I would call "too intelligent!" My friend has a female cockatoo. It belonged to a lady who died, and my friend rescued it last year. The bird was traumatized by losing ehr owner, and started plucking out msot of her bodily feathers. She still does. I feel bad for her, but it just goes to show; even a bird that was kept by a loving, knowledgible person, can outlive that person. After that, even a well meaning and knowledgible person like my friend, who rescued her, cannot really make that bird 100% happy. Oddly, she has bonded to my boyfriend for some reason; when we go there, she goes nuts and loves when he picks her up. Everyone else, she is either aloof, or merely tolerates them. But he comes in, she talks (says hello, etc) and bobs her head lile a nut.
If PETA gave half a darn about animals, they would KNOW that people are NOT going to stop keeping them as pets. If they cared at all for animals that are kept, they would start a mission to educate people regarding proper husbandry, etc. Nope, don't see that happening! I honestly think that we are more ethical than those... connivers.

That said, should we all go follow PETA's lead, and let our ball pythons, cats, dogs, horses and everything else, go free into the wild? Could you imagine that? lol!
I hate petco too, for pandering to PETA.

i personally think that they will hit PetsMart next ... i work there as a dog groomer. the only thing i have seen on petas website about petsmart is the fact that they were in one store and a bird got stuck in a glue trap up in the rafters ment for mice. but as soon as they get petco out of the way ... which i am all for ... they will go for petsmart. petsmart has only had one big bird since i have worked there and it was an african grey ... it was fiesty at times and i think that it bit a couple of people so im not sure if he found a home or not. but other than that they have rules on what they sell and the way they are kept. i asked my store director the other day why we didnt sell snakes ... her answer was since we are pet friendly we cant sell an animal that eats another pet! so that is why they dont sell snakes and im not sure what the other rules are on selling of the other animals but i think i would still go with a breeder and peta still sux.

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Originally Posted by Egyptian_Sphynx

i asked my store director the other day why we didnt sell snakes ... her answer was since we are pet friendly we cant sell an animal that eats another pet! so that is why they dont sell snakes and im not sure what the other rules are on selling of the other animals but i think i would still go with a breeder and peta still sux.

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Yep, that's the same reason I got told at the local petsmart. I think it's a load of crap, personally. They don't ensure that every fish they sell won't eat other fish's fins. They don't require that bird or fish purchasers promise not to feed them any worms or brine shrimp or other living or once-living source of animal protein. They sell cat and dog food that contain cow, chicken, lamb, pig, and who knows what other animals. They're speciesist. I'd rather spend my money at Petco any day. At least they're more honest about being a retail pet store and not some happy-fanny feel-good we-can't-stand-to-feed-off-anything-with-a-face-unless-we-never-have-to-see-the-face hypocrites like petsmart.

i really hate PETA but i do agree most people don't know how long those bird can live.
but i wish there was a way to get all the pet owners, hunters and fishers out to PETA and form a mass boycott at there gates. and just give them a taste of there own.

I went to petsmart and asked if they sold feeder mice.

They told me "No. We sell mice as pets, and it would be hypocritical to sell them as food."

bull crap

i have mice as pets, and I still feed mice to my snakes. doesn't make me hypocritical. my snakes have to eat, ya know?

It's hypocritical not to sell mice to someone, but to sell them to someone else.

w/e

Wow.. then am I a hypocrite if I raise pet or 'fancy' chickens, then I go buy a chicken sandwich at mcdonalds? Ridiculous.

Hm; the petsmart near me, does sell reptiles, but interestingly I never see snakes there; just things that eat crickets, such as geckos.
That is the most ridiculous, hypocritical thing I ever heard; "we don't sell snakes cuz they eat mice.. bla bla blah." What do ya think is in those bags of dog food!? Geez Louise. I have my local pet store that I support, a place where people are at least speaking to me from the same planet!