Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bloom-beacon!apple!rutgers!rochester!pt.cs.cmu.edu!andrew.cmu.edu!ls1i+ From: ls1i+@andrew.cmu.edu (Leonard John Schultz) Newsgroups: rec.birds Subject: Re: hookbills, you asked for it, you know, posting to rec.birds... Message-ID: Date: 15 Oct 88 17:03:48 GMT References: <1103@leah.Albany.Edu>, <1521@valhalla.ee.rochester.edu> , Organization: Carnegie Mellon Lines: 45 In-Reply-To: >Then I heard about how so many birds die for each one that makes it >to a pet store, and how more and more species become endangered every year, >and how the rain forests are dwindling at an alarming rate, and I just >can't justify the pleasure I get from seeing birds up close by their >suffering. Ya, ya, great. But take a wild guess as to how many birds die in the wild due to natural selection (diseases, predators, hunters). Millions. As a matter of fact, some formerly endangered species, such as some of the miniature macaws, were saved due to the successful breeding and caring of private aviaries. I agree that the rain forests are dwindling, but that isn't due to billions of people snatching wild birds. It is due to the lumber companies and real estate developers that think forests will last forever. Wild cockatoos in Australia are abundant in flocks of hundreds of thousands. They are damaging the farmers' crops. The farmers are shooting them, legally. Now you can't blame that on the American bird owner. Australia has a very small export rate of these birds, and that is very responsible. It keeps the value of the birds high (people tend to take better care of a bigger investment), and keeps avian diseases at a minimum. >How would you like to live in a cage >that was just about ten feet square, >with no toys to play with and nothing to do -- >just you and a bed and a chair? > etc. My bird is loose in the house, almost constantly. He's got plenty of toys to keep him busy destroying and he's got people constantly giving him love and attention. He loves being petted, scratched, fed, fussed over, and he generally loves life. >My solution has been to have a *whole flock* of pet birds: blue ones >and red ones and yellow ones, right outside the livingroom. I have my >own aviary: the nature preserve behind my apartment. I feed them with >sunflower seeds, and I know that I'm doing my part to help birds out >with what they really want: a natural environment, and enough food to >eat. Now if they don't build condos over the preserve, I'll be all >set.... That's the only intelligent thing you've said. I am definitely going to build a house in the boonies so I can watch all this wildlife in my backyard, my own outdoor aviary. But I will also have an indoor aviary for those that cannot handle the cold. For those endangered species from all over the globe that I can help survive. And for people who would like to share some love and affection with a young avian who can definitely use it.