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Home > Help Us > Gimme Shelter! > Issue 6: June 2006

Gimme Shelter! Gimme Shelter!

Issue 6: June 2006

At MAARS, birds like the ones whose stories appear in this issue of Gimme Shelter! find not only a home, but the patience and understanding they need to recover from whatever neglect or trauma they have suffered. This is especially true for those individuals who were captured in the wild and managed to survive the confinement, distress, and isolation imposed upon them in captivity. We can never know the terror and loss endured by the many millions whose lives were ravaged in this way, but we can grant them whatever small comfort they might find, allow them the dignity they deserve, and bestow upon them our honor and respect.

Captive Exotic Bird Care: A Guide for Shelters Parrots are winding up in local shelters and animal control facilities with increasing frequency and in greater numbers than ever across the country. Many animal care professionals who were involved in the rescue efforts after hurricanes Katrina and Rita have told me that they were truly surprised at the large number of captive birds they encountered. MAARS is regularly called upon to assist other organizations with avian care, handling and education.

Although most of our supporters know MAARS for the care we provide to the flock at our shelter, The Landing, this is only a part of the MAARS mission. We know that with our limited space and resources, we cannot take in all of the birds who need our help, so we work within the local, national, and even international animal protection and advocacy communities to improve the lives of captive and wild parrots through education and collaboration.

Here are just a few examples of how MAARS reaches out to improve the lives of captive parrots everywhere:

MAARS provides vet students with on-site opportunities to learn about captive parrot welfare issues, common health issues, behavioral challenges, and appropriate care and handling in order to ensure that there are more skilled and knowledgeable avian vets to meet the needs of a growing captive parrot population.

MAARS assisted in the development of a veterinary technician class to be taught through Argosy University beginning in Fall 2006, giving vet tech students a minimum of 14 hours of hands-on experience with parrots at The Landing.

Last month, MAARS conducted a slide presentation and lecture at the National Animal Control Association (NACA) conference in Oklahoma City, OK. The conference brought together animal control agents from across the country, and for many, the MAARS presentation was their first opportunity to learn about captive parrots and their care.

MAARS collaborated with other individuals and organizations to publish a guide for animal shelters across the country on how to care for displaced captive parrots. The guide, Captive Exotic Bird Care: A Guide for Shelters, is published by the Avian Welfare Coalition (AWC), Animal Protection Institute (API), and ASPCA. MAARS provided extensive expertise, content, and editing of the materials. This handbook will be available shortly via the AWC web site.

MAARS' education and outreach initiatives continue to connect with the next generation of animal guardians and animal welfare activists. Volunteer staff will make a presentation to more than 200 4th–8th graders regarding avian welfare issues as part of General Mills' Kids to Work Day on June 15, 2006. Not only do we hope to educate the audience, but also encourage them to become life-long volunteers, giving back to their communities. To get them started, each student will construct a parrot toy that will be given to a member of the MAARS flock.

The need for MAARS services continues to grow in every respect, and we need your support to fulfill that need. Your donation will help to provide the shelter, veterinary care, placement and education that has an enormous impact on the lives of so many birds like Henry, Malachi, and Calypso & Stubbie — both close to home and far away.

Eileen McCarthy

MAARS Executive Director

Mark November 10 for the MAARS Annual Gala!

Mark your calendars for Friday, November 10, for the 6th Annual MAARS Gala Benefit Cocktail Hour, Dinner & Silent Auction! Watch your mailbox for more details later this summer and fall.

MAARS Supporting Flock Members receive discounted or free tickets to this fun-filled event, so join MAARS today!

Become a MAARS Supporting Member and Help Birds Like…

Henry: Small Comfort

Several local animal control and humane society shelters rely on MAARS to take in birds from their facilities when the birds' care requirements exceed what the shelter is capable of providing. A couple of weeks ago we were contacted about a feather-destructive Conure at an area shelter who was in need of our services. [More…]

Malachi: A Time to Heal

Malachi is a wild-caught male Moluccan Cockatoo who came to MAARS in 2003 after being left at the after-hours drop of a local shelter in a cage barely large enough for him to turn around…For at least the first year that Malachi lived at The Landing, he was wary of other birds, nervous around humans, and would rarely came out of his cage. Many of the Volunteer Staff spent time interacting with Malachi on his terms, which most often included scratching his head while he was protected within his cage. His vocal repertoire, at that time, consisted mostly of clear, unmistakable dog barks — he never yelled, strutted, or displayed like the other male Cockatoos. [More…]

Calypso & Stubbie: Love Knows No Color

Calypso, is a quiet, determined, seven-year-old White-fronted Amazon who came to MAARS at the age of four years in May 2003 when his guardian became too ill to continue to care for him. Although Calypso had always been around other birds, as he matured, he began to seek a special friend or mate. For reasons we will never know, Calypso has never shown much interest in any of the other Amazons who have called The Landing home, and his first offers of friendship were not well-received by the Moluccan Cockatoos to whom he was drawn. [More…]

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 Henry, Malachi, and Calypso & Stubbie. 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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