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New Coalition Is Strictly "For the Birds"
Eileen McCarthy and Kathy Pietig of Midwest Avian
Adoption & Rescue Services (MAARS) in St. Louis Park to Attend Avian
Welfare Round Table in Washington, DC, to Address Protection and Welfare
of Exotic Birds
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 3, 2002
Arlington, VA – This June, Eileen McCarthy and
Kathy Pietig of Midwest Avian Adoption & Rescue Services (MAARS),
an exotic bird adoption, sanctuary, and education organization in St.
Louis Park, will join forces with representatives from other animal
welfare organizations in a Round Table meeting in Arlington, VA. Their
goal is to address the need to provide more protection for captive birds
and to stem the growing tide of unwanted birds from meeting the same
fate as the millions of unwanted dogs and cats that are killed needlessly
each year in U.S. shelters because there is a lack of good homes for
them.
Although there has been much focus on the overpopulation
of dogs and cats, until recently there has been little attention to
the growing numbers of abused and abandoned exotic birds, reptiles and
other non-native species that are now entering rescue and shelter facilities
around the country.
In 1990, 11.6 million pet birds lived in the United
Sates, according to the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council. A study
in The Journal of the American Veterinarian Medical Association in 1998
reported the population to be 35–40 million. Today, it is estimated
that up to 60 million captive birds reside in the U.S. alone, and many
of the larger parrot species have life expectancies of 50 years or more.
Parrots become homeless for many of the same reasons
as dogs and cats; deaths, illnesses and other life-changing situations
cause many to be re-homed. But the commercialization of birds and other
exotic animals by the pet trade is contributing to growing numbers of
these animals being given up when people discover that, compared to
cats and dogs, they have far more complex personalities and care requirements.
Parrots are not domesticated animals. As with other
exotic species, people are fascinated by the idea of having a parrot
as a pet, but few are prepared for the special responsibility of caring
for a wild creature that will most likely outlive them. What people
often expect of a companion animal is completely out of sync with how
parrots behave naturally and how they perceive the world around them.
The sad reality is that the lack of public education
and protective animal welfare legislation in effect to specifically
define the neglect and abuse of birds has had a sobering effect —
far too many birds in captivity languish in substandard, neglectful
and/or abusive conditions.
For more information about Midwest Avian Adoption &
Rescue Services (MAARS), contact:
Eileen McCarthy, Executive Director/CEO
Midwest Avian Adoption & Rescue Services (MAARS)
P.O. Box 821
Stillwater, MN 55082
Phone: (651) 275-0568
Fax: (651) 275-0457
E-mail: eileen@maars2.org
Website: http://www.maars2.org
For more information about the Avian Welfare Coalition
(AWC), contact:
Denise Kelly and Krista Menzel, Coordinators
Avian Welfare Coalition (AWC)
P.O. Box 40212
Saint Paul, MN 55104
E-mail: info@avianwelfare.org
Website: http://www.avianwelfare.org
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