Midwest Avian Adoption & Rescue Services, Inc. (MAARS) - Bird adoption, sanctuary, rescue, and care education services for parrots and other captive exotic 'pet' birds. News and Events - BORN TO BE WILD: Second Annual MAARS Benefit Silent Auction and Buffet

Home > Help Us > Gimme Shelter! > Issue 1: August 2003

Issue 1: August 2003

Each year, millions of exotic birds are sold into the pet trade in the United States and abroad. Their longevity and natural, wild behaviors virtually ensure that an individual bird will need to be placed in a shelter or sanctuary at some point in his/her lifetime. MAARS currently has a waiting list of 60–90 days for all intakes.

Since the spring of 1999, MAARS has cared for approximately 1,200 birds and currently takes in an average of more than one bird each day, many of whom have never been out of their cages. Sixty Volunteer staff working twelve shifts per week tend to the daily needs of approximately 240 birds at our Minneapolis/St. Paul area facility, The Landing, providing safe, clean housing, veterinary care, a nutritious diet, and environmental enrichment. On average, it costs MAARS $1.00 per bird per day to meet these basic care requirements and run the organization.

MAARS Needs Your Help NOW!

Summer has traditionally been a very lean time for donations to MAARS, and like other non-profits, we are also feeling the effects of the weak economy. We are now asking our supporters to donate funds to help us provide food, veterinary care, toys, and shelter for the abused, neglected, unwanted, or otherwise displaced birds awaiting adoption or living in sanctuary at The Landing. Three generous MAARS supporters have agreed to match the first $1,500 in donations we receive during this campaign!

You Can Help Birds Like…

Victoria

Victoria is one of seven sweet pied Cockatiels surrendered to MAARS by a small local breeder who had more birds than she could sell. When the seven arrived in 2001, MAARSians dubbed them the "Toeless Tiels" because each of them came in missing several toes due to repeated attacks from a larger bird. The breeder kept five other Cockatiels that she wanted to continue breeding. [More…]

Andy

Andy is a male Umbrella Cockatoo who began life in a large production breeding facility and was then sold at a local PETCO store. He was surrendered to MAARS in June 2002 when he was four years old because his guardian was moving, getting married, and had baby on the way and little time to spend with him. Andy had become loud and aggressive and arrived at MAARS a very angry bird. He screamed incessantly, thrashed against the bars of his cage, and launched aerial attacks on humans. Today he is one of the most gentle and loving of the many male Cockatoos that MAARS is home to each year. [More…]

Buddy

Buddy is a Quaker Parrot who arrived at a large, well-funded Twin Cities humane society in July 2003 in a tiny, filthy cage. He had a bloody gash on his neck that was reported to be self-inflicted. Having no available resources to treat Buddy's condition, shelter employees requested that MAARS take him and provide the care he needed. We treated him with antibiotics and a topical medication to promote healing. Within a few days, Buddy was feeling much better and looking for love. [More…]

Salsa

Salsa is a playful, talkative, and affectionate Blue-streaked Lory puchased from a breeder who did not live up to the expectations of his human flock. After a year-and-a-half in his home, MAARS received an e-mail stating that Salsa had to be out within the week. His guardians were putting their house on the market and feared that his noise and mess would lower the value and desirability of their property. They told MAARS that they were considering getting a "different kind" of bird. [More…]

Why Help?

It has to be done and someone has to do it. If not us, then who? If not now, then when? What will happen to all the birds? The ones who have nowhere else to go when they are discarded like old clothes, the ones who face certain death just because they have two legs rather than four, the ones who have languished behind bars for oh-so-long. And the ones whose survival has cost them so much: never again to feel their outstretched wings carry them through the air or the sun warm their glistening feathers or the joy at the familiar call of one of their flock. And, yes, we do it for ourselves, for us. For the chance to sleep peacefully at night, to view our reflection in the morning and know that we will leave this world a better place, having made all the difference to a few feathered souls. They are our inspiration, our strength and our reward.

– Adapted from Taking Flight by Eileen McCarthy,
Co-founder & Executive Director of MAARS

Join the MAARS Flock Today…and Be the Wind Beneath Their Wings!

The MAARS Annual Membership Program gives you and our other loyal MAARS Supporting Flock Members the opportunity to help MAARS on an ongoing, sustaining basis. Your annual financial contribution will allow us to continue to provide and expand our valuable rescue, intake, care, veterinary and behavioral evaluation and treatment, adoption, sanctuary, outreach, and educational services for the displaced captive birds who we meet and the people whose lives they touch.

With so little, you can do so much to change the lives of birds like Victoria, Andy, Buddy, and Salsa. On average, it takes $1.00 per day to care for each MAARS bird. Every small donation makes a big difference, and big donations help even more. Your participation in the MAARS Annual Membership Program will help save and improve the lives of hundreds of parrots and other displaced captive birds.

Join MAARS today! Give them shelter! Ease their pain! Stop the cycle! And know that you made one corner of the world a better place for another living creature!

Mail Your Membership Donation

Mail a check or money order made out to "MAARS" to: MAARS, 1360 University Ave W #347, St. Paul, MN 55104.

Join Securely Online

MAARS accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, checks, money orders, and PayPal through our online MAARStore.

Click here for more information on the MAARS Annual Membership Program!

Midwest Avian Adoption & Rescue Services, Inc., is recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization (Federal ID# 41-1944074) and is registered with the Office of the Secretary of State and the Office of the Attorney General of Minnesota as a charitable organization. All donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.

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