Dear Parrots magazine,
The way forward
I should like to comment on two items in issue 205 of Parrots Magazine. First, I feel congratulations are in order to Brighton & Hove City Council for adopting the measures put forward by the Animal Protection Agency (APA) to discourage impulse buying of animals (but parrots in particular) as outlined on page 8 of that issue. Personally I should like to see a voluntary scheme taken up by every breeder and pet shop whereby every potential parrot purchaser has to put down a substantial (but fully refundable) deposit on a bird and then have to wait three days before taking the bird home. This would enforce a ‘thinking time’ for the buyer to fully appreciate what they are taking on. Also that time could be usefully used to purchase a suitable cage, perches, toys, etc, and possibly find a suitable vet. Further I would like all breeders and pet shops to provide a comprehensive (and I mean comprehensive) fact sheet to every buyer about their parrot, how long the bird may be expected to live, how much it will cost them to feed and insure, how much noise can this parrot make, all those things that a first time parrot owner, in particular, may not be aware of. I don’t believe these measures would put off a serious buyer and many reputable shops already go some way to doing this, but wouldn’t it be nice if everybody in the trade put the birds before their profit lines?
Secondly, the article by Sigrid März on the Lineolated Parakeets. Great, I love these little parrots that are often seen as ‘not proper parrots’ because of their size, for many people, who for one reason or another cannot have or manage a full or medium size bird, these guys are every bit as entertaining and involving, this article says it all, nice one Sigrid!
Lindsay Taylor, by email