Dear Parrots magazine, No more clipping I bought my African Grey about eighteen months ago as a baby and noticed it had its wings clipped. I was new to parrots and accepted this was a normal procedure when buying a young bird.
But after reading many articles on wing-clipping, I now realise that this is not a good thing as a young bird needs to fly to help it build up its muscles and organs. The shop I bought it from said they always clip wings so the bird cannot escape and it is in the bird’s best interests to have it done. Well, I don’t agree as I think it is bad for them. It is good now that the feathers have grown back and it can fly OK, although I always wonder if it could fly better had it not had its wings cut back. As long as the bird is with me, it will never have its wings clipped again and I only hope that the clipping has not caused any long-term damage. Maureen Kingsley, London
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